Hlophe now has until 21st January 2023 to file his papers. This is after his lawyers made a request to the court to challenge a decision by the Judicial Services Commission to impeach him.Hlophe’s lawyers wrote to the SCA requesting another extension. This is after they missed an earlier extension in October from the court due to funding delays.
It was found that Hlophe approached Constitutional court judges Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta and attempted to influence their decision in favour of Zuma in the case. A researcher from Judge Matters, Mbekezeli Benjamin weighs in. “We are concerned about the delays that have happened in this case. This is the second time that he has been given an extension. Often extensions are given when there is a problem with the preparation of a court record and we are not sure if this relates to that issue. Nevertheless, we believe that there is no legal impediment from the president taking action to suspend Judge Hlophe.