Parly’s impeachment of Hlophe could be nullified should he win ConCourt challenge - legal expert

JOHANNESBURG - It might not be the end of the road for Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, with a legal expert explaining that should he succeed in his last-ditch Constitutional Court challenge, Wednesday’s impeachment could be nullified.

Parliament resolved to call for his impeachment on Wednesday afternoon, following a vote that would effectively bring to a close the drawn-out 16-year saga, with the only thing left, being for the president to make it official.

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After the Portfolio Committee on Justice agreed to recommend Hlophe’s impeachment in late 2023 and the vote became imminent, Hlophe launched a Constitutional Court challenge to the process.

Should he be successful in his Constitutional Court bid, the University of Pretoria’s Dr Llewelyn Curlewis said Parliament would be sent back to square one.

"On the assumption he is successful, then obviously if the Constitutional Court sets aside the procedures, then we are back to the drawing board."

He said this wouldn’t have an automatic knock-on effect on retired Gauteng High Court Judge Nkola Motata, whose impeachment Parliament voted for on Wednesday, but that it would set a precedent for him to rely on if he wanted to bring his own court challenge.

However, Curlewis wasn’t confident in Hlophe’s case.

"This is desperate measures and a last resort that he tries to pursue now. Why it was never raised from the outset and immediately thereafter by means of urgent application - this from a judge president of the Western Cape who’s a very senior practitioner and judge. He knows what to do and he knows exactly when and how to do it."

Curlewis said to his mind, to wait to this point seemed "far-fetched".