Impeached judge John Hlophe was subjected to the “law of the jungle” after being condemned, vilified and “booted out of his job”, and those seeking to stop him from serving on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) “wanted to dig the grave and kill him again”.
“They call it the rule of law. The rule of law my foot. It’s the law of the jungle and we are not going to have it here,” advocate Dali Mpofu, on behalf of the MK Party (MKP), said in his opening remarks in the Western Cape High Court on Friday.
Hlophe represents the party in parliament and was nominated to sit on the JSC, a decision ratified by a majority vote in the National Assembly.
The MKP and Hlophe are opposing three separate bids (heard at the same time) by the DA, Corruption Watch and Freedom Under Law (FUL), for an interdict, alternatively a final order, overturning the National Assembly’s designation of Hlophe to the JSC, which interviews and recommends judges for appointment.
They have argued the National Assembly’s decision was irrational and a disgraced judge should not be allowed to judge the suitability of others.
Mpofu argued before judges Selby Baqwa, Johannes Daffue and Colleen Collis that there was “something fishy” about the application, and said a court should never allow itself to become the appeal tribunal of the National Assembly.