Dr John Hlophe's designation as member of the Judicial Services Commission(JSC) continues to be the bone of contention from opposed political parties. Photographer: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Dr John Hlophe’s designation as member of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) continues to be a bone of contention, with the DA now launching an urgent interdict in the Western Cape High Court against the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party parliamentary leader’s assignation to the JSC.
The DA has been one of several political parties that have objected to Hlophe’s appointment to the JSC, while the ANC and EFF were among those who voted in favour of his nomination and appointment.
The commission is expected to sit in October to interview and make recommendations to President Cyril Ramaphosa on who to appoint.
The DA’s application comes in two parts with Part A seeking an urgent interdict against Hlophe from taking up the position in the JSC, while Part B is a review application seeking to set aside the decision of the National Assembly to designate Hlophe as a representative at the JSC.
In the application, the DA argues that Hlophe’s participation in the JSC would render any recommendation it makes to the president as unlawful and undermine the integrity of the body.
In essence, the DA therefore seeks to prevent Hlophe from serving on the JSC until the legality of his election to the commission is determined by the court.
The DA concludes that the MK Party had the opportunity to field a different candidate other than Hlophe whose image does not allow him to be part of the same institution that impeached him.
The application dated July 19, cites Hlophe as the first respondent, the Speaker as the second, the JSC as the third, the MK Party as the fourth, and all other parties represented in the National Assembly as fifth respondents.
The DA said: “In February this year, the National Assembly resolved to remove Dr Hlophe from his position as a judge. It reached that conclusion based on the finding of the JSC that Dr Hlophe was guilty of gross misconduct for seeking to influence the outcome of a case concerning former president Jacob Zuma.”
It accused the National Assembly of “wrongly” endorsing the nomination of Hlophe, saying:. “The National Assembly wrongly seems to have taken the view that it had no choice but to accept MK Party’s nomination of Dr Hlophe. It erred. It was for the National Assembly to decide, after considering nominations from the relevant political parties, whom to designate - the only constitutional limitation is that three of the designated MPs must belong to opposition parties.”
The DA said the relief in Part A of the application was urgent as the JSC is set to sit in October.
The DA’s application follows an application by AfriForum to the Constitutional Court seeking to interdict Hlophe’s appointment to Parliament.
The MK Party’s Youth League said on Monday: “The MK Party Youth League (MKPYL) notes the application by the AfriForum seeking direct access to the Constitutional Court on an urgent basis.
“We note in that such an application by AfriForum is baseless, vexatious and irrational and is a desperate attempt to throw the spanner in the grinding wheels of justice and more particularly neo-liberal quartet perpetuation of animosity and pure jealousy in the person of Dr John Hlophe.The AfriForum mandate from its masters is to destabilise and weaken the momentum of the MK Party in Parliament as the official opposition party.”
The Star
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za