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- A Stuijt
- Retired South African medical journalist, ex-Sunday Times of Johannesburg.
Racism complaint against top black SA judge
17:10 | 
Posted by
A Stuijt |
http://www.legalbrief.co.za/index.php?page=HlopheSaga
John Hlophe, Judge-President of the Western Cape: “I am not going to shake a white man’s hand…’”
Sapa reports on August 14 2009
Civil rights campaigning group AfriForum has formally complained to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) about what they say were racist remarks allegedly made by Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe. read.
The JSC is taking it very seriously: it is holding an emergency hearing today about the issue.
- AfriForum's legal team has submitted a written complaint against the judge in response to the "racist and hurtful remarks that Judge Hlophe allegedly made regarding judges of the Constitutional Court, according to an article in the Mail & Guardian", AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said..
"Hlophe is quoted as having said, among other things, that he refused to shake the hand of Chief Justice Pius Langa, as 'I am not going to shake a white man's hand.’ ..
- "Hlophe now denies having said these things, while the Mail & Guardian maintains that he had indeed made these objectionable statements," said Kriel.
The judge had a "history of perpetually denying the large number of ill-considered statements that have been ascribed to Hlophe in the past, or of alleging that his words have been misquoted".
"These latest allegations against Judge Hlophe must not be swept under the carpet once again, as has been the case in the past, because this will raise serious question marks about the integrity of the judicial system," Kriel stated.
Hlophe, photographed by Rogan Ward of Mail & Guardian
Kriel also referred to allegations in 2005 that Judge Hlophe supposedly said he had specifically given (the Afrikaans-language issue surrounding) the Mikro School court case to Judge Wilf Thring, as he (Judge Hlophe) had known that Judge Thring would "f**k the case up", and that the case could then be resolved on appeal.
- In the same year, a Cape lawyer, Joshua Greeff, alleged that Judge Hlophe had called him a "white shit".
Later indications that Judge Hlophe had allegedly accepted payments from the Oasis company while making a decision on whether Oasis could proceed with legal action against Judge Siraj Desai “should have been handled far more circumspectly by the JSC”, Kriel added.
The judicial system was a crucial cornerstone for protecting the rights of civil society and therefore judges should at all times remain above any form of suspicion.
AfriForum's complaint was specifically directed at demanding, from the side of civil society, that the JSC continue and even expand its current investigations into Judge Hlophe's actions, he said.
The Freedom Front Plus opposition party spokesman Frik van Heerden has also called on President Jacob Zuma to suspend Judge Hlophe pending a final outcome of the JSC's investigation.
Van Heerden said: "Hlophe's latest attack, according to reports in the M&G, is clearly a breach of the oath which judges have to take, i.e to respect and protect the constitution. Personal differences exist on all levels of life - also in the highest court of the country. It may, however, never detract from the functioning of the courts and certainly and absolutely not infringe on a pledge," he added.
- This article was originally published on page 6 of The Star on August 14, 2009
- Afriforum complaint: http://www.afriforum.co.za/english/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/20090815jscdiscusseshlopheweekender.pdf
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hlophe
- Legal brief on John Hlophe: http://www.legalbrief.co.za/index.php?page=HlopheSaga
- also read: Judge Hlophe's letter to the Chief Justice
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