Johnathan Paoli
Former Western Cape Judge President and Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) parliamentary leader John Hlophe has been selected by the National Assembly (NA) as one of the members of parliament (MPs) to join the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).
MPs gathered at Cape Town City Hall on Tuesday in order to elect house chairpersons and representatives to serve in various structures, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC) parliamentary forum and the JSC.
The election was postponed last week due to ongoing negotiations surrounding the nomination of Hlophe.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) forced a vote on the selection, despite the long-standing practice of allocating positions to parties, and the parties themselves taking the prerogative to decide which individual.
DA Chief Whip George Michalakis said two main reasons informed his party’s decision to call for a vote, namely that it was not reasonable or rational to elect Hlophe in light of his impeachment due to gross judicial misconduct.
Secondly, Michalakis said in light of the constitutional obligation to ensure the independence, impartiality, dignity and effectiveness of the judiciary, Hlophe’s position in the JSC could pose a risk of paralysing the commission, as applicants to be interviewed by the commission could apply for his recusal.
DA Spokesperson on Justice and Constitutional Development, as well as the party’s nomination to the JSC, Glynnis Breytenbach said it was a clear conflict of interest and undermined the independence of the judiciary.
Breytenbach said the party would continue to oppose the appointment of Hlophe.
“We risk undermining the JSC processes for the election of judges and their investigations into judges’ conduct, endangering the rule of law in South Africa and the proper functioning of the Judiciary,” Breytenbach said.
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+), African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and Build One South Africa joined the DA in opposing the selection of Hlophe.
The MK MP enjoyed the support of other parties, however, with the deputy president of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Floyd Shivambu fully supporting the appointment.
Shivambu said as a matter of principle, anyone who is eligible to become an MP, in line with section 47 of the Constitution, can be delegated to whatever responsibility that all MPs are eligible for.
He called out the hypocrisy of the DA, when it came to the qualifications and appropriateness of its own members.
“There are so many less than capable members of the DA, some of whom are serving in the executive now, who do not have any form of qualification,” Shivambu said.
In addition, Al jama-ah, the Pan Africanist Congress and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) have supported the nomination, with ATM MP Vuyo Zungula saying there was nothing precluding Hlophe from representing Parliament in the JSC.
Other members nominated to represent parliament in the JSC include Molapi Lekganyane and Fasiha Hassan from the ANC, Julius Malema of EFF and Athol Trollip of ActionSA.
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