‘Sex, violence’ and high court drama
Hlophe accused of assault, favouritism on the Cape bench
● Years of whispers about sex and violence in the corridors of the Cape Town high court culminated in a deafening explosion this week.
But a senior judge said the shock waves caused by deputy judge president Patricia Goliath’s complaint about her boss, John Hlophe, 60, and his wife of five years, judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, 45, risked overshadowing the most serious allegation.
“She did a very wide complaint and the public will miss the point about the acting judges,” said the senior judge, who did not wish to be named.
In her complaint to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), alleging gross misconduct by Hlophe and his wife, Goliath, 55, said Salie-Hlophe “wields enormous power” and “is actively involved in the management of the court, the allocation of matters and, most disturbingly, the appointment of acting judges”.
The Sunday Times has established that two of the judges she referred to are Cape Town advocate Bryan Hack and Pietermaritzburg attorney Matthew Francis.
Hack was president of the Conservative Student Alliance at the University of Cape Town in 1980 when he and two others were tried under the Terrorism Act after shots were fired at the Clifton home of Progressive Federal Party MP Colin Eglin.
Hack was acquitted, but Goliath said he was a friend of Salie-Hlophe and his appointment as an acting judge “caused some consternation amongst the older judges”.
She said she raised the issue with Hlophe, “who agreed that this person should not be reappointed”. But when she left Cape Town for a stint at the Constitutional Court, “he was reappointed and continues to act for long periods. His presence underlines the power which Salie-Hlophe … wields.”
Hack, 63, declined to comment.
Goliath said Francis, “for no apparent reason — and at great expense to the state — has been acting for over a year. There are rumours that his wife has a connection to Hlophe.”
The KwaZulu-Natal attorney said he was unmarried and this could only refer to his exwife. They divorced 25 years ago.
“I know that [Hlophe] did in fact lecture with her. She sadly passed during last May. It is so unfortunate that she is now brought into something which I can tell you is absolutely false,” he said.
The senior judge who spoke to the Sunday Times said the alleged assault by Hlophe on a 65-year-old judge was common knowledge. “He [the judge who was allegedly assaulted] walked into [Salie-Hlophe’s] chambers and he touched her black belt and said, ‘how are you?’
“She alleges that was sexual harassment, so she went and told her husband. He [Hlophe] went in and pushed the guy against a cupboard and the guy’s back was injured,” the senior judge said.
Most of his colleagues were glad Goliath’s affidavit had aired the alleged assault, he said. “You can’t carry on like that. You can’t do as you please.”
The judge who was allegedly assaulted could not be contacted this week, and judge Taswell Papier — named by Goliath as having talked his colleague out of laying a criminal complaint — referred the Sunday Times to the office of chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.
Mogoeng’s spokesperson, Nathi Mncube, said Papier denied Goliath’s allegation.
Staff at the Cape Town high court were instructed not to discuss Goliath’s complaint, which also alleged that Hlophe:
● Stripped her of her duties after accusing her of interfering in his personal life;
● Verbally abused a judge after an incident “of a sexual nature”;
● Tried to influence the outcome of a case involving a nuclear deal with Russia by allocating it to judges he perceived to be favourable to former president Jacob Zuma; and
● Allocated the Jason Rohde murder trial to his wife, causing “considerable unhappiness” among senior judges.
The senior judge confirmed that Hlophe had taken over Goliath’s duties.
“The big question is: why does he want to run the division alone? He doesn’t take leave.”
Goliath, 55, said she had nothing to add to her affidavit. “I am just leaving myself in the hands of the JSC and they must decide the way forward.”
Hlophe’s lawyer, Barnabas Xulu, dismissed Goliath’s allegations as gossip. “It is unfortunate that the complaint, rather than raise legitimate issues ... brings disrepute to the court,” he said.