President Ramaphosa must stop dragging his feet and suspend Hlophe

11 August 2022

The DA calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe as a matter of urgency. The President’s reluctance to act on the recommendations of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is increasingly damaging to the judiciary’s credibility and integrity.

The President’s failure has emboldened groups like Project 27 and the Black People’s National Crisis Committee in their efforts to keep Judge Hlophe in power while the Section 177 removal process is before Parliament. The increasing politicization of Judge Hlophe’s suspension will only grow the longer the President delays the inevitable.

The JSC’s recommendation that the President suspend Hlophe two weeks ago was the culmination of 12 years of work by the DA, and other role-players within the justice and constitutional development NGO space. We will not allow these efforts to be wasted just because President Ramaphosa refuses to take the appropriate action.

In South Africa everyone is equal before the law, including Judge Hlophe. It is time President Ramaphosa stops pandering to political pressure and does the right thing – suspend Judge President John Hlophe.

Issued by Glynnis Breytenbach, DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, 11 August 2022