South Africa on a Slippery Hlophe
John 'Slippery' Hlophe
Today will mark a dark day in South Africa’s future history: it is the day the judiciary was emasculated. Judge John Hlophe has been cleared by the Judicial Services Council of gross misconduct in attempting to influence two Constitutional Court judges. In doing so, the majority of the disciplinary committee of the JSC twisted and turned in a grotesque dance to find a justification for clearing this fatally flawed man.
I expected it. I even predicted it. But there was some part of me that hoped that sanity would prevail and that sacrificing the independence of the judiciary for a single man could simply not happen. And not just any man: a racist liar who is completely unsuited to be a judge. But then again, the same people who championed Hlophe were also prepared to sacrifice the independence of the prosecuting authority – and much more – for a single man, Jacob Zuma.
The only question is: what is the deal? Hlophe clearly knew that he would get a far more friendly hearing from a reconstituted JSC under Zuma, so he used every trick in the book, including feigning illness to delay his hearing until that day arrived. Now he’s free to be selected to serve on the Constitutional Court. Could this really be? One part of me is hoping…
The JSC itself also comes out of this saga with its credibility in tatters. It drew a distinction where none existed to avoid a full hearing that could have exposed the lies of a sitting judge and could have gotten rid of one or more bad apples on the bench. The fact that the JSC does not seem concerned about the fact that their decision condones scurrilous lies, suggest it has no ethical compass of its own.
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South Africa on a Slippery Hlophe | Dance on
Fri, 28th Aug 2009 7:32 pm
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