Ndhlela said the judgment was ‘nothing but a cruel reminder of the pain inflicted by the oppressive judicial system under apartheid’.
The MK party has rejected the judgment against impeached judge John Hlophe, saying the ruling “represents everything that is wrong with the current constitutional dispensation in South Africa”.
The Western Cape High Court on Monday declared the National Assembly’s decision to designate the MK party deputy president to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as unconstitutional and invalid.
The ruling followed legal challenges brought by Freedom Under Law, Corruption Watch, and the DA, who argued that appointing an impeached judge to the JSC threatened judicial independence.
Judgement
Hlophe and the MK party were also ordered to pay costs.
In a scathing judgment, Acting Judge President Nobulaw Mbhele, including judges Annelie Basson and Thifhelimbilu Mudau, said they were satisfied the decision to designate Hlophe must be reviewed and set aside on each of the grounds advanced.
“The National Assembly did not consider the relevant fact that Dr. Hlophe had been impeached for gross misconduct. Instead, it relied on irrelevant considerations, such as established parliamentary practices and conventions, which cannot override constitutional requirements.
“Dr Hlophe, as indicated, was found guilty of gross misconduct and removed from judicial office. He has refused to acknowledge the impropriety of his conduct and continues to engage in scandalous attacks on the judiciary. His presence on the JSC ineluctably undermines the legitimacy of the judicial appointment process,” the judges stated.
ALSO READ: Court finds impeached judge John Hlophe unfit to serve on JSC
MK party rejects judgment
MK party national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the party rejects the Western Cape High Court’s judgment, which it claims gives the “DA and the courts the right to veto the decision of the majority of citizens”.
“This judgment represents everything that is wrong with the current constitutional dispensation in South Africa. It cannot be that three unelected judges who are not lawmakers but interpreters of the law allow a racist minority to subvert the will of the people.
“As the MK party, we will not allow a white dominated and racist party like the DA to have the final say as to who may or may not represent our party in the JSC. If indeed the constitution allows for a return to apartheid, then it is the constitution which must be urgently changed,” Ndhlela said.
‘Oppressive judicial system’
Ndhlela said the judgment was “nothing but a cruel reminder of the pain inflicted by the oppressive judicial system under apartheid”.
He said any constitution which “worships Roman Dutch norms and traditions above African values belongs to the scrapheap of history”.
“The MK Party is determined to expose the fundamental injustices embedded in the current constitution.
“We will therefore appeal this shocking judgment in an effort to educate the public about the urgent need for Parliamentary sovereignty blended with Indigenous African Law based on Ubuntu, collective ownership of economic resources, and the will of the people. Where the law can no longer be manipulated to justify hatred for certain targeted individuals,” Ndhlela said.
DA welcomes judgment
DA federal chair Helen Zille said the Western Cape High Court order to bar an impeached judge from serving on the JSC is a “victory for the rule of law, and the constitution”.
Hlophe, who became the first judge in the country’s democratic history to be impeached, was elected in July 2024 to serve on the JSC, a body that appoints judges and regulates their ethical and professional conduct in South Africa.
ALSO READ: MK Party calls decision to bar John Hlophe from JSC a ‘lynching’
