EFF leader Julius Malema and impeached former judge president John Hlophe are clearly not suitable to serve on the JSC, says retired Supreme Court of Appeal judge Azhar Cachalia.
Cachalia, who now serves as chair of non-governmental body Freedom Under Law (Ful), said appointing disgraced former judge Hlophe to the JSC was “akin to asking the fox to guard the henhouse”.
Cachalia was delivering a public lecture at Rhodes University titled “Is the Judicial Service Commission ‘fit for purpose?’
The answer from Cachalia after a devastating reflection on its work over 15 years was a resounding “no”.
He said the seventh parliament had also failed dismally to meet expectations that it would fix SA’s independent institutions wrecked by state capture.
“It was hoped that parliament would designate suitable persons to serve on the JSC — hardly a difficult task.
“It failed dismally by appointing ... Malema and Hlophe.”
He said Malema had consistently abused his authority on the JSC and had been found guilty of breaching the Members of Parliament Code of Conduct.
The Speaker, Thoko Didiza, had been ill advised to find that there was no requirement on parliament to appoint people to the JSC that were “fit and proper” for the purpose.
“The National Assembly thus proceeded to select Hlophe to serve on the JSC — the very body that found him guilty of gross misconduct and unfit to be a judge.
“As a member of the JSC, he will now have to decide whether candidates for judicial office meet the high ethical standards to be appointed as judges — standards that he felt no need to adhere to as a judge.
“This is akin to asking the fox to guard the henhouse.”
He said there was a duty to object to this “cynical exercise of public power” and Ful was challenging the courts to invalidate Hlophe’s appointment.
The matter was likely to be argued in September.
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