Hlophe’s name was among the six MPs elected by the National Assembly. Picture: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
Former Western Cape judge president John Hlophe will serve as a representative of Parliament on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Hlophe’s name was among the six MPs elected by the National Assembly.
The motion on the election of JSC representatives was withdrawn last week to allow consultation among political parties. On Tuesday, ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli tabled the motion again along with others when the sitting got underway.
Hlophe, who is an MK Party MP, was nominated along with ANC’s Soviet Lekganyane and Fasiha Hassan, the DA’s Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach, EFF leader Julius Malema and ActionSA’s Athol Trollip.
When the National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza asked if there were objections to the nominations, DA chief whip Michael Michalakis raised an objection to Hlophe’s inclusion and asked to make a declaration.
After parties made their motivation on whether they supported Hlophe’s nomination or not, the matter was put to a vote.
Only the DA, Freedom Front Plus and the ACDP voted against, with some parties in support and others voicing their views on his suitability.
“With those objections the motion is carried. This brings an end to our sitting,” Didiza said.
Hlophe became the first judge in the history of South Africa to be impeached by Parliament after the JSC found him guilty of gross misconduct.
He was impeached earlier this year after he lost a court bid to interdict Parliament from considering his removal from office pending a court case he launched in the Constitutional Court.
Hlophe was accused by Constitutional Court Justices of attempting to influence that court’s judgement in the matters involving former president Jacob Zuma in 2008.
Cape Times