By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The MK Party will appeal a Western Cape High Court ruling barring John Hlophe from participating in the sittings of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
On Friday, the Western Cape High Court temporarily interdicted Hlophe from participating in the work of the JSC, the body that interviews and recommends candidates for appointment as judges.
A full bench agreed with the applicants in the case that there was a risk that Hlophe’s presence could compromise the integrity of the interviews, and found that on the face of it, they had made out a strong case to succeed in their review of the decision to appoint him to the JSC.
The matter was heard by Gauteng high court judges Selby Baqwa and Colleen Collis and Free State high court judge Johannes Daffue.
Hlophe, now the MK Party’s deputy president, became the first person to be impeached as a judge in democratic South Africa after a parliamentary vote in favour of his removal in February.
In a statement released on Monday, the MK Party said it had also submitted a formal request to the Chief Justice, in her capacity as chair of the JSC, to postpone the upcoming sitting until the review application is finalised.
MKP chief whip in Parliament, Mzwanele Manyi, said holding the interviews without Hlope would result in an unnecessary constitutional crisis.
“The JSC, for it to be duly constituted, must have all its components in the right proportions. Now, the component that deals with the National Assembly is also regulated in terms of the 50/50 split between the ruling party and the opposition parties.
“If in the opposition you have one person not there, then it is limping. Instead of a 50/50, you have a 60/40, which is a violation of the prescripts. So, it means the JSC is not properly constituted, and all the decisions that will be taken will be tarnished, and they will not be worth the paper they are written on.
“We are saying let us avoid this constitutional crisis, illegality and unlawfulness and postpone that sitting pending the various applications that are at play to decide the fate of Dr Hlope.”
The party has warned that if its request is not granted, it will have no choice but to take legal steps to interdict the interviews and mobilise its supporters to demonstrate against the proceeding.