Cape Town - Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, has welcomed the suspension of the province’s Judge President, John Hlophe, by the Judicial Service Commission.
This comes after a virtual meeting was held where the commissioners voted to suspend Hlophe, who has previously been found guilty of impeachable gross misconduct.
According to Winde, the serious nature of the findings of gross misconduct is what led him to vote in favour of suspending Hlophe.
He said this recommendation would now go to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The gross misconduct Hlophe was found guilty of dates back to 2008 when he is alleged to have approached two Constitutional Court Justices to try and convince them to make rulings in favour of then aspirant President Jacob Zuma in corruption cases he was implicated in.
Last year, the Judicial Conduct Tribunal unanimously found Hlophe guilty of gross misconduct.
“Hlophe tried in vain to challenge his conviction, needlessly further drawing out this debacle. In May this year, the Gauteng High Court – which heard his unsuccessful review application – ruled that the protracted litigation was “probably unique in the history of our judiciary”.
“This offence is very serious, and given how long this saga has been dragging on, I believe it must now be concluded,” Winde said.
He went further, stating he hopes Ramaphosa acts swiftly in suspending Hlophe.
Winde said the Western Cape Government deeply respects the integrity of the country’s judicial system, and recommending to have Hlophe suspended is sending a clear message: “the impartiality and integrity of the justice system must be upheld at all costs because this is what is in the best interests of our country”.
IOL