The MK Party has applied to have impeached former Western Cape chief judge John Hope (left) suspended from the JSC, seeking to be admitted as part of the committee that will interview future judges. (Photo credit: Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images, Getty Images)
The Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party's attempt to halt Judiciary Commission (JSC) interviews scheduled for next week was rejected by the Johannesburg High Court on Saturday.
It said the party wanted impeached former Western Cape chief judge John Hope to be allowed to sit on a committee interviewing future judges and had applied to stop the interview. It was done later.
During the interview, Hlophe will be the parliamentary leader of MK. On Friday, his lawyer and defender Buyani Galwana SC argued that Mr Hlofe was “one of the most maligned figures in the country” after the newly sworn-in MP was impeached earlier this year. He refused a seat on the JSC.
Last week, the Western Cape High Court barred Mr Hlophe from taking part in an interview pending the outcome of a legal challenge to the decision to appoint him a member of the JSC.
The parties then sent a letter to the JSC requesting a postponement of the interview, but the request was refused, so they filed an emergency application and appealed to the court.
This was rejected.
of email and guardian Hlophe has been through some 16 years of disciplinary proceedings stemming from his attempt to sway a Constitutional Court judge in favor of Jacob Zuma in a case related to arms-dealing corruption charges against the former president. It was previously reported that he was removed from court in March. He leads the MK party.
“Dr Hlophe's appointment to the JSC will inevitably undermine the independence, dignity and effectiveness of our courts,” the Western Cape Provincial Court said last week.