President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed judges John Hlophe and Nkola Motata from office after Parliament voted on their impeachment two weeks ago.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) had referred the two matters to Parliament and the majority of members of the National Assembly voted in support of the impeachment of Hlophe and Motata.
The portfolio committee on justice and correctional last year processed the two matters and asked both Hlophe and Motata to make submissions on extenuating circumstances.
But after deliberations in the committee they found there were no extenuating circumstances and recommended that both judges should be impeached.
The National Assembly’s programming committee decided that the impeachment will take place on February 21, which was after Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana delivered his Budget.
A total of 305 members of the national assembly voted for the impeachment of Hlophe and 296 supported the impeachment of Motata.
Hlophe was found to have tried to influence two judges of the Constitutional Court in cases involving former president Jacob Zuma in 2008.
Motata was found guilty of drunk driving and crashing his car into a boundary wall of a house in Johannesburg in 2007.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said on Wednesday parliament has acted on the resolution of parliament.
“The president accordingly removed Judge President Mandlakayise Hlophe of the Western Cape Division of the High Court from judicial office following the national assembly resolution to remove Judge Hlophe as stipulated in section 177 (1) (b) of the Constitution,” said Magwenya.
He added that the president used the resolution of parliament to also remove Motata from office.
Motata retired in 217 and initially the JSC had fined him. But the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the commission after Freedom Under Law challenged it.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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