Cape Town — The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party wants to appeal the High Court’s decision to prevent Dr John Hlophe from serving on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The Western Cape High Court prevented Hlophe from serving on the JSC following an application by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
However, the party was unhappy with the decision and believed the judgement to be “erroneous and unjustifiable”. The party said it would appeal and seek to postpone the JSC sitting, set for 7 October 2024, a statement read.
“We are confident that this judgement will be overturned on appeal and that the primary review application, initiated by the DA, Corruption Watch and Freedom Under Law, will ultimately be unsuccessful,” MK spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, said.
The High Court ruled that the JSC is now improperly constituted. The delegation from the National Assembly (NA) has been reduced to five members, meaning an imbalance favouring the ruling bloc.
uMKHONTO weSIZWE PARTY TO APPEAL HIGH COURT DECISION AND SEEK POSTPONEMENT OF JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION SITTING pic.twitter.com/pKAOoHZVdo
— uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (Official) (@MkhontoweSizwex) September 30, 2024
Ndhlela added that the MK Party submitted a formal request to Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, to postpone the sitting until the review application has been finalised.
The Party believes that postponement is the only “practical and constitutionally sound” solution to the crisis and any decision to proceed with the JSC under the current composition would trigger more legal action, and raise concern about the legitimacy of appointments.
“We therefore trust that the JSC will act prudently and grant our request for postponement. However, should the JSC fail to do so, the MK Party will have no choice but to pursue legal action to interdict the 7 October sitting,” Ndhlela said.
According to TimesLIVE, in the letter sent to Maya, MK Lawyers KMNS said Hlophe’s membership of the JSC “arose and/or commenced on July 9 upon his designation as such by the National Assembly in terms of section 178(1)(h) of the constitution”.
KMNS’ Thabo Kwinana said the automatic effect of the interdict will be to render the JSC improperly constituted and listed various Sections of the constitution:
He said it was also unlikely that any new designation would be processed and affected as the NA is in recess until 4 October.
Kwinana said there were no provisions in the constitution for Hlophe to be substituted as suggested by the court in its judgment. He said it seemed inevitable and obvious that no properly constituted JSC could or would be in existence by October 7.
The party set a deadline of 11am on Tuesday for Maya’s response, and failing to do so would lead to the party taking urgent legal action to avoid any violation of the constitution, the political dignity rights of the party and its members, voters and supporters.
Constitutional law expert Prof. Pierre de Vos says the prevention of MK Party’s Dr John Hlophe to serve in the JSC is not a legal fight but a political one. He warns against the JSC being drawn into politics. The Western Cape High Court on Friday barred Hlophe from attending… pic.twitter.com/pN5zZIEexs
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) October 1, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
