By Daanyaal Matthews
The Constitutional Court has dismissed the application from former Judge and present Deputy President of the MK party, John Hlophe, which challenged the interim interdict set in place by the Western Cape High Court barring his participation in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Previously, the former judge was halted by applications made by both political parties, such as the Democratic Alliance, and civil organizations, such as Freedom Under Law, who argued that due to Hlophe’s history in the courts (where he was impeached), it would not be sound to allow him to participate in the JSC.
Speaking on VOC NewsBeat, Mbekezile Benjamin argued that the present situation of Hlophe is seemingly bleak due to the previous judgment of the Western Cape High Court but furthers that—from the perspective of his organization—it would not be suitable for Hlophe to join the JSC given his history.
“In our view, we do believe that the JSC should be served by the most ethical people with the highest standards of integrity. So, we would find that anyone who has been found guilty of unethical conduct or gross misconduct should be completely unsuitable for the JSC or the Magistrates Commission,” argued Benjamin.
For Benjamin, the present dispute on Hlophe’s viability to serve in the JSC is tied to a bigger query on what standard citizens expect from holders of public office.
“The bigger question really is the standards that we expect of holders of public office in our country. What kind of expectations do we have of holders of public office, whether they are in Parliament or whether they are in the judiciary or whether they are in the executive? I think there should be a minimum standard that we should expect that everyone should follow, and if you don’t follow that standard, then you don’t qualify as a holder of public office,” stated Benjamin.
Listen to the full interview here:
