Legal counsel for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party has argued that the JSC committed a material error in law when it failed to appreciate the effect that the Western Cape High Court order has on its looming interviews.
Advocate Dali Mpofu has submitted that the Commission misconstrued the impact of MK Parliamentary leader, John Hlophe’s exclusion from the JSC proceedings. “We’re not attacking the order. We’re simply saying its constitutional impact results in the JSC, as matters currently stand, being improperly constituted. So, if the constitutional impact of that valid order of the Western Cape High Court is to create an unconstitutional situation, a situation that is inconsistent with the constitution, then your Lordship has no option, your Lordship must declare that conduct to be unconstitutional not in the full court, in the conduct of the JSC.
The Western Cape High Court will hear the main application against the National Assembly’s designation of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s Parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, to the Judicial Service Commission on November 1. In September, the court granted an interim interdict barring Hlophe from participating in the JSC interviews scheduled to take place from next Monday. The DA and Corruption Watch challenged Hlophe’s designation due to his removal from office for gross misconduct earlier this year. The matter will be heard virtually.