Retired Judge Nkola Motata and suspended Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe must be removed from the Bench, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services has decided.
Its recommendation must now be considered by the National Assembly. If accepted by a two-thirds majority of MPs, the president must then remove the judges. Should this occur, it will be the first time in democratic South Africa that a judge is removed.
Both judges have been found guilty of gross misconduct by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
According to News24, the ANC and DA members of the committee agreed that both judges should be removed, but EFF MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane – who, as Public Protector, was found guilty of misconduct by Parliament – opposed their removal.
Motata, who was convicted of drunk driving and falsely accusing the person whose wall he crashed into of racism, was found guilty of gross misconduct by the JSC after a protracted and litigious process.
News24 reports that the gross misconduct finding against Hlophe dates back to 2008, but it took a route with many legal detours before reaching the point where his removal from the Bench was before Parliament.
In May 2008, justices of the Constitutional Court laid a complaint with the JSC about Hlophe’s attempt to convince Justice Chris Jafta and Justice Bess Nkabinde to rule in favour of former president Jacob Zuma in his bid to overturn warrants used to seize 93 000 pages of corruption trial evidence against him.
After much legal wrangling, the JSC found Hlophe guilty of gross misconduct in August 2021.