'Law of the jungle': Mpofu says DA wants to keep punishing Hlophe
Hlophe’s representative Thabani Masuku told the Western Cape High Court his detractors were not satisfied that his impeachment led to his removal from the bench, and they wanted to continue punishing him.
Advocates Dali Mpofu and Lerato Moela are representing the MK Party in the case against John Hlophe's designation to the JSC. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party lawyer Dali Mpofu says its parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, is being subjected to treatment akin to lynching for wanting to exercise his duties as a Member of Parliament (MP).
Hlophe’s representative Thabani Masuku told the Western Cape High Court his detractors were not satisfied that his impeachment led to his removal from the bench, and they wanted to continue punishing him.
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The Democratic Alliance (DA) and civil society organisations such as Freedom Under Law and Corruption Watch are before the court for a second day, challenging Hlophe’s designation to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Mpofu said the National Assembly considered Hlophe’s impeachment as a judge when it debated his nomination by the MK Party, and determined there was no a legal impediment to his designation to the JSC.
He said the complainants wanted to condemn Hlophe for his impeachment, even beyond the grave.
Mpofu said the DA was being petulant by approaching the court because it lost the vote in the National Assembly.
"You want to lynch some and not be happy with killing them, but must hang them on a tree so passersby can see. You can call that the rule of law, but it’s the law of the jungle," said Mpofu.
Hlophe’s lawyer Masuku said detractors were horrified there were no further consequences beyond his removal as a judge, but that his judicial experience can not be ignored.
He said other parliamentarians designated to the JSC were not being subjected to the same scrutiny as Hlophe, and their moral character was not being called into question.