The party sought to “demystify” the “myth” that judges were above reproach.
This call comes as the MK Party's leader Jacob Zuma seems to continuously appear before the courts. In 2021, the Constitutional Court sent Zuma to prison for 15 months for contempt of court, which later led to the July unrest in the same year where at least 350 people died.
Zuma is also in court facing charges of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering over the controversial arms deal.
The party said it is also pushing to amend the constitution to specify that decisions taken by parliament cannot be reversed by the courts.
“As [the] MK [Party in] parliament, [we] will change the constitution to ensure we have parliament sovereignty to ensure the will of the people prevails, which cannot and should not be reversed by judges who are not legislators but interpreters of the law passed by parliament as per the will of the people,” said Ndhlela.
They wanted all judges — from the Constitutional Court to the lower courts — to be subjected to lifestyle audits and forced to declare their assets.
South Africans should know who funds the “lavish” lifestyles of judges and how they accumulated wealth.
This would expose who judges were possibly affiliated to and whether their judgments were influenced by relationships with financial interests or affiliation to political parties.
“As long as judges continue to operate in a cocoon of untouchability, the rule of law remains at risk. Accountability must be universal, not selective,” said Ndhlela.
“This is not an attack on the judiciary but a defence of democracy and the will of the people. Transparency is not a threat, it is a necessity. The integrity of our courts depends not only on the law but on public trust and that trust must be earned through openness, not opacity.”
TimesLIVE
MK Party wants lifestyle audits, declaration of assets of judiciary
Journalist
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU
The MK Party wants declarations of assets and lifestyle audits on the judiciary, saying people who yield so much power ought to be transparent about their lives.
“The party is drawing a clear line in the sand, that if MPs, elected by the people and accountable to the public are required to declare their assets, the same should apply to judges who wield constitutional power and influence over the lives and freedoms of citizens,” spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said.
“Judges must be held to an even higher standard of scrutiny and criticism in society. South Africa cannot afford to have a judiciary shielded from the same transparency expected of other arms of state. Judges are not infallible but human and prone like all of us to error, influence, including even bias, whether conscious or otherwise.”
ANC cadres framed me in the arms deals case, says Zuma
The party sought to “demystify” the “myth” that judges were above reproach.
This call comes as the MK Party's leader Jacob Zuma seems to continuously appear before the courts. In 2021, the Constitutional Court sent Zuma to prison for 15 months for contempt of court, which later led to the July unrest in the same year where at least 350 people died.
Zuma is also in court facing charges of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering over the controversial arms deal.
The party said it is also pushing to amend the constitution to specify that decisions taken by parliament cannot be reversed by the courts.
“As [the] MK [Party in] parliament, [we] will change the constitution to ensure we have parliament sovereignty to ensure the will of the people prevails, which cannot and should not be reversed by judges who are not legislators but interpreters of the law passed by parliament as per the will of the people,” said Ndhlela.
They wanted all judges — from the Constitutional Court to the lower courts — to be subjected to lifestyle audits and forced to declare their assets.
South Africans should know who funds the “lavish” lifestyles of judges and how they accumulated wealth.
This would expose who judges were possibly affiliated to and whether their judgments were influenced by relationships with financial interests or affiliation to political parties.
“As long as judges continue to operate in a cocoon of untouchability, the rule of law remains at risk. Accountability must be universal, not selective,” said Ndhlela.
“This is not an attack on the judiciary but a defence of democracy and the will of the people. Transparency is not a threat, it is a necessity. The integrity of our courts depends not only on the law but on public trust and that trust must be earned through openness, not opacity.”
TimesLIVE
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