Mogoeng may have stumbled on Hlophe's Stalingrad stage
The latest development in an ongoing saga to hold accountable Western Cape high court judge-president John Hlophe calls to mind that age-old mechanism in all the favourite soap operas, whether one’s tastes run to Uzalo, Skeem Saam, Scandal or Generations The Legacy: the twist in the plot that keeps the story going. At the weekend, chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng referred a complaint against Hlophe lodged by his deputy, Patricia Goliath, to a judicial tribunal. The complaint lists Hlophe’s alleged abuse of power and a claim he assaulted a colleague, judge Mushtaq Parker, while accusing Parker of interfering in Hlophe’s marriage to judge Gayaat SalieHlophe.
The complaint is just the latest in a string of incidents pointing to instability in the Western Cape judiciary.
But in a fresh twist to the saga, Hlophe, who is a Muslim, has accused Mogoeng of anti-Muslim bias in coming to the decision to send the complaint to the tribunal.
His lawyer has written to the judicial services commission noting Hlophe’s distress that Mogoeng’s decision came “immediately in the wake of his heated pro-Zionist political statements”.
Hlophe’s lawyer also listed other evidence he claimed automatically disqualified Mogoeng from adjudicating Goliath’s complaint, including a surreptitious meeting he had with her to discuss the alleged assault by Hlophe on Parker.
In an online exchange last month hosted by the Jerusalem Post and speaking in the context of his Christian faith, Mogoeng was perceived by many as criticising SA’s foreign policy in respect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even though he said he considers all SA government policy binding on him.
Emanating from his commentary is a range of issues including his right to freedom of speech and of religion, and whether or not it is appropriate for a chief justice to set aside his official mantle to offer his unexpurgated views on the world. Importantly, the question arises again whether any judge may, in an extracurricular arena, weigh in on an issue which might come before them in their official capacity. In due course, these must receive serious consideration by the JSC and parliament.
For now, with typical chutzpah, Hlophe has used Mogoeng’s comments on the Middle East conflict to introduce a whole new battle front. It is a Stalingrad-type defence, just tactics to exhaust the opposition.
Way back in 2008 he used these tactics to avoid accountability over allegations of attempts to influence constitutional court judges hearing a matter involving former President Jacob Zuma.
Mogoeng may well rue his propensity to speak his mind as plainly as he has done on the Middle East situation.
Emanating from his commentary is a range of issues including his right to freedom of speech and of religion