John Hlophe
The National Assembly on Wednesday voted to impeach suspended Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe. This decision marked the first impeachment of a judge in democratic South Africa.
The motion saw an overwhelming majority of 305 MPs, including those from both the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), casting their votes in favour. Against the motion, 27 MPs, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) being the primary dissenters, voted to oppose Hlophe’s impeachment.
Earlier in the day, the Western Cape High Court turned down a last-ditch effort by Hlophe, who through an urgent application sought to put a stop to the impending parliamentary vote. Justice Sulet Potterill, presiding over the matter in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, dismissed the plea with costs.
The failed last-minute interdict sought to overturn the Justice Portfolio Committee’s recommendation for impeachment, calling for Parliament to lay down specific impeachment rules for judges. Despite this legal maneuver, the National Assembly continued with the vote which included not only the fate of Hlophe but also that of retired Gauteng High Court judge, Nkola Motata.
The controversy surrounding Hlophe originated from allegations made in 2008 by all the then-sitting justices of the Constitutional Court. They accused Hlophe of attempting to influence the Court’s decisions on cases related to corruption charges against the former president Jacob Zuma and arms company Thint, linked to the controversial arms deal.
Meanwhile, the issues concerning Judge Motata followed an event in 2007 where he faced conviction for driving under the influence, following the notorious incident where his Jaguar crashed into the wall of a residence in Johannesburg.
With the passage of the resolution by the National Assembly, the decision will now be presented to President Cyril Ramaphosa for final ratification.
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