'A president can’t appoint a judge twice', Makhubele's counsel tells tribunal

JOHANNESBURG - Counsel for misconduct-accused Judge Tintswalo Makhubele said that accepting that she was a judge from 1 January 2018 was tantamount to “constitutional absurdity”.
 
Lobby group Unite Behind has accused Makhubele of, among others, undermining the independence of the judiciary by occupying the position of judge and chair of the interim PRASA board simultaneously.
 
And a Judicial Conduct Tribunal is now underway to probe the complaint, with closing arguments currently underway.

A key point of contention is when exactly Makhubele became a judge and whether there was any overlap with her tenure at PRASA.

Unite Behind and the evidence leaders say Makhubele became a judge on 1 January 2018, in terms of her original appointment by then-President Jacob Zuma.

But Zuma’s successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa subsequently deferred her start date to 1 June 2018 and Makhubele maintains she only became a judge then, by which time she had resigned from PRASA.

Her advocate, Thabani Masuku, said that the former version created a "constitutional absurdity".

"And the absurdity there is that a president can’t appoint a judge twice, you’ve got to give a proper interpretation of what was engaged in that process."

Masuku said that the evidence leaders should have called a witness from the Presidency to explain this aspect.

"And the issue would be: No but the appointment had not been accepted, that appointment of President Zuma had not been accepted."

The proceedings are continuing.