Probe Hlophe matter
THE recent fiasco involving the Judge President of the Western Cape, JP Hlophe, is indeed a rather embarrassing affair. If the allegations are proved true, then he must be relieved of his job with immediate effect.
The recent judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) by judges Ponnan and Cachalia is indeed an indictment against the province’s judge president.
A cursory reading of the judgment demands action against Judge Hlophe, but we are not a kangaroo court, so due process must allowed to take its course, even if thus means that Judge Hlophe must take leave of absence while this matter is being investigated.
The judgment by the SCA requires a full investigation if the integrity of the Western Cape High Court is to be preserved.
The judgment by the SCA questions Judge Hlophe’s integrity, and this cannot exist without this matter being fully investigated and the judge exonerated from all allegations levelled against him by the SCA. We must remember that the SCA is South Africa’s highest court in respect of civil matters.
This matter calls for the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), under the leadership and guidance of Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and SCA president Judge Mandisa Maya, to institute an urgent investigation of this matter to clear Judge Hlophe, or else he must appear before a disciplinary hearing of the JSC.
The investigation must cover all the salient matters raised by SCA judges Ponnan and Cachalia, as well as how this matter was conducted and dealt with in the Western Cape High Court by Judge Hlophe.
This matter goes to the heart of judicial independence and the interference in the court processes that allows justice to be compromised and, even worse, bought by the highest bidder.
This matter involving Judge Hlophe, to a large extent, relates to matters involving millions of rand in insurances claims.
There is no doubt that money of this magnitude can play a very destructive role is the dispensing of justice.
I hope the JSC takes this matter very seriously and conducts the investigation with speed, so that Judge Hlophe can continue his job without any reservations about his integrity and fitness to hold office in this esteemed organ of state. Simon Pele Athlone