The National Assembly has voted to impeach suspended Judge President of the Western Cape High Court, John Hlophe.
Three hundred and five MPs voted in favour of his impeachment, while 27 voted against.
A two-thirds majority, 267 out of 400, is required to remove a judge from office, with the President giving the final order.
In the debate for the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission for Hlophe’s impeachment, ANC member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Justice and Correctional Services Committee, Bulelani Magwanishe took to the podium first in support of the impeachment to commence.
Four out of the fourteen political parties represented in Parliament were against the removal process. Magwanishe elaborated on the party’s support for the impeachment.
“Loosely translated it means who will guard the guards themselves or who will watch over the watch man or who will judge the judges themselves. At the heart of this phrase lies the question how those who wield power and are entrusted to protect us, be held accountable. After centuries of discrimination, dispossession and grave injustices, the democratic break ushered a paradigm shift. The adoption of the constitution ushered in a new order in form and substance.”
