Mandlakayise John Hlophe (born 19 May 1959) is a South African jurist and politician, currently serving as the Deputy President of
uMkhonto weSizwe and the
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
of South Africa.
He was the Judge President of the
Western Cape Division
The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court, superior court of law with general juris ...
of the
High Court of South Africa
The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provinces of South Africa, provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction ov ...
from May 2000 until March 2024, when
he was impeached. He was the first South African judge to be impeached under the
post-apartheid Constitution.
Born in
Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal, Hlophe began his career as a successful legal academic with a specialty in
administrative law
Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...
. He taught at the
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...
from 1988 to 1990 and at the
University of Transkei
The University of Transkei was a university in Umtata in the former bantustan of Transkei in South Africa. It was founded in 1976 as a branch of the University of Fort Hare and after the Transkei gained nominal independence in 1977, it became th ...
from 1990 to 1994. After joining the Cape High Court bench in January 1995, he rose quickly through the judicial ranks, becoming Deputy Judge President in May 1999 and Judge President in 2000. He was shortlisted for elevation to the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
in 2009.
Known as a vocal proponent of demographic transformation in the
South African judiciary, he was a divisive figure in
Western Cape
The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...
legal society. In 2005, he accused various colleagues of
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
in a report that was leaked to the press and widely circulated. While his supporters heralded him as a future
Chief Justice, he became increasingly embroiled in controversy, and he was the subject of numerous complaints to the
Judicial Service Commission, including one from the
Cape Bar Council, one from Deputy Judge President
Patricia Goliath
Patricia Lynette Goliath (born 15 October 1964) is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. She has been the acting Judge President of the Western Cape Division since December 2022, when John Hlophe was suspended and then impeac ...
, and one from the judges of the Constitutional Court.
In the latter regard, in 2008, two judges of the Constitutional Court accused Hlophe of having attempted improperly to influence their judgment in matters involving President
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...
. After a prolonged legal battle, the Judicial Service Commission found him
guilty of gross misconduct in August 2021, and the
National Assembly of South Africa
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation sy ...
resolved to impeach him on 21 February 2024.
Early life and education
Hlophe was born on 19 May 1959 in Madundube, a rural area of
Stanger
KwaDukuza, previously known as Stanger, is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates towns such as Stanger, Ballito and Shakaskraal), but the Zulu people in the area called it ...
in the former
Natal Province
The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organised int ...
(present-day
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
).
His clan name is Samela.
His father, originally from
Port Shepstone
Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, Margate and is positioned 120&nbs ...
, worked as a security guard and later as a
traditional healer
A folk healer is an unlicensed person who practices the art of healing using traditional practices, herbal remedies and the power of suggestion.
Origin
The term "folk" was traditionally associated with medical and healing practices that were ...
, while his mother, originally from
East Pondoland, worked as a sugarcane cutter and gardener.
The younger of two brothers,
he later said that his childhood home was a mud hut in the bush, located a six-kilometre walk from his school.
He began school in 1967 at the Prospect Farm Primary School in Stanger,
and spent weekends and holidays doing household tasks for his mother's employer, farmer Ian Smeaton.
He became politically conscious as a result of the
1976 Soweto uprising
The Soweto uprising, also known as the Soweto riots, was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in South Africa during apartheid that began on the morning of 16 June 1976.
Students from various schools began to p ...
and his education at the
Ohlange High School
Ohlange High School is a secondary school in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1901 by John Dube and Nokuthela Dube (''née'' Mdima). in nearby
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
,
where he matriculated in 1978.
His interest in law was inspired by an attorney friend of Smeaton's, whose car Hlophe washed;
he later said, "I admired him and thought I wanted to be like him and drive a car like his. Washing his car made me feel very special then."
Though both of Hlophe's parents died in 1980,
Smeaton continued to sponsor his education.
He attended the
University of Fort Hare
The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to ...
from 1979 to 1981, completing a BJuris, and went on to complete an LLB at the
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...
in 1983.
At the University of Natal, he studied
administrative law
Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...
with Lawrence Baxter, under whom he wrote his first academic article, a note on
lobolo
Lobolo or lobola in Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Silozi, and northern and southern Ndebele (''mahadi'' in Sesotho, ''mahari'' in Swahili, ''magadi'' in Sepedi, ''bogadi'' Setswana, ''lovola'' in Xitsonga, ''mamalo'' in Tshivenda, and ''roora'' in ...
in
Zulu customary law
A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law".
Customary law (also, consuetudinary or unofficial law) exists wher ...
.
After graduating, he was a fellow at the
Legal Resources Centre
The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is a human rights organisation based in South Africa with offices in Johannesburg (including a Constitutional Litigation Unit), Cape Town, Durban and Grahamstown. It was founded in 1979 by a group of prominent South ...
in Durban, until, in 1984, he moved to
Cambridge, England
Cambridge ( ) is a city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of ...
for further study. Supported by a Livingstone Trust scholarship, he completed an LLM at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in 1984.
He returned briefly to Natal in 1985, lecturing in law at the
University of Zululand
The University of Zululand or UNIZULU is a comprehensive tertiary educational institution north of the uThukela River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The university has established partnerships with schools in the United States and Europe suc ...
's
KwaDlangezwa campus, but later that year he undertook doctoral studies at Cambridge on an Africa Educational Trust scholarship.
He completed his PhD in 1988.
Academic career
Later in 1988, Hlophe joined the faculty of the University of Natal, becoming a lecturer in law at the university's
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...
campus.
He worked there for two years before, in 1990, he moved to
Mthatha, Eastern Cape
Mthatha ( , ), alternatively rendered Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known a ...
to join the
University of Transkei
The University of Transkei was a university in Umtata in the former bantustan of Transkei in South Africa. It was founded in 1976 as a branch of the University of Fort Hare and after the Transkei gained nominal independence in 1977, it became th ...
.
He was promoted to professor and head of
public law
Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...
in 1992.
As an academic, he was a founding member of the university's
legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...
clinic and the chief editor of the ''Transkei Law Journal''.
His students included
Dumisa Ntsebeza
Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza (born 31 October 1949) is a South African lawyer and political activist. He was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Ntsebeza was born in Cala, Eastern Cape in the former Transkei. He is the chairman of t ...
.
He also conducted side-work as a mediator and arbitrator, through the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa, and as a consultant on matters of
labour law
Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...
and
industrial relations
Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade
unions, employer organ ...
.
While living in Mthatha, Hlophe was a member of the Industrial Court of Transkei, and in 1994 he became an ad hoc member of the Industrial Court of South Africa.
In the interim, in 1993, he was admitted as an
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...
of the
Supreme Court of Transkei.
Cape High Court: 1995–2024

Shortly after the
end of apartheid
The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...
, newly elected President
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
appointed Hlophe as a judge of the
Cape Provincial Division
The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the ...
of the
Supreme Court of South Africa
The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was th ...
(later a division of the
High Court of South Africa
The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provinces of South Africa, provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction ov ...
). He took office on 1 January 1995 and, aged 35, he was one of the youngest judges in the country.
According to some reports, he was the first black judge to join the Cape bench,
as well as the first judge to join the post-apartheid judiciary directly from academia.
During his early tenure as an acting judge and judge, he was the protégé of Judge President
Gerald Friedman.
After serving as the division's acting Deputy Judge President in 1998,
he was permanently appointed to that position on 18 May 1999.
The following year, on 1 May 2000, he succeeded
Edwin King as the division's Judge President.
Lawyer Paul Hoffman later speculated that his rapid professional rise was partly due to his personal popularity, describing him as having been "charm personified at first, showing a willingness to learn the ropes and a preparedness not to take himself too seriously."
Notable cases
In the assessment of the ''
Daily Maverick
''Daily Maverick'' is an independent, South African, English language, online news publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in the country's two most populous cities: Cape Town (the site of its headquarters) and Johannesburg.
...
'', Hlophe was generally a talented jurist and "it was his conduct as a judicial officer that sank what could have been a brilliant and transformative career".
Similarly, while admiring his "intellectual pedigree", Hugh Corder remarked that, "not every good academic makes a good judge".
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
judgments written by Hlophe were upheld by the
Supreme Court of Appeal in ''
De Lille v Speaker of the National Assembly'' and by the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
in ''
SATAWU v Garvas
In ''South African Transport and Allied Workers Union and Another v Garvas and Others'', the Constitutional Court of South Africa dismissed a constitutional challenge to section 11 of the Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993. The relevant p ...
''. His other notable judgments include ''Mabuza v Mbatha'', on the recognition of customary marriage, which the Constitutional Court cited in ''
Bhe v Magistrate'', and ''Magewu v Zozo'', on child maintenance, which the Constitutional Court cited in ''
S v M''. In the 2021 matter of ''S v Bongo'', Hlophe dismissed
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
charges against former cabinet minister
Bongani Bongo
Bongani Thomas Bongo (born 29 June 1978) is a South African politician and the former Minister of State Security, a position to which he was appointed on 17 October 2017 by President Jacob Zuma until he was relieved from the post on 28 February ...
, who was accused of offering bribes to obstruct a
state capture
State capture is a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state's decision-making processes to their own advantage.
The term was first used by the World Bank in 2000 to describe certain Central ...
probe at
Eskom
Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...
; the Supreme Court of Appeal overruled his judgment and ordered a retrial in 2024.
''Minister of Health v New Clicks''
In 2004, Hlophe presided in ''
Minister of Health v New Clicks'', which gave rise to personal as well as legal controversy. In August, Hlophe's court dismissed the application, which was an urgent challenge by pharmaceutical companies to medical pricing regulations newly promulgated by the
Minister of Health
A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...
. The majority judgment was written by Judge
James Yekiso
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
, joined by Hlophe, and opposed in a dissenting judgment by Deputy Judge President
Jeanette Traverso. When the court was hearing the pharmaceutical companies' application for
leave to appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
, Hlophe caused a stir by complaining that legal practitioners were circulating rumours that he had written the majority judgment in Yekiso's name.
He apparently linked this misconception to
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
, and in the weeks thereafter, he complained publicly about "a calculated attempt to undermine the intellect and talent of African judges".
He later accused Deputy Judge President Traverso of having started the rumour in question.
In the interim, Hlophe's court delayed handing down a decision on the applicants' leave to appeal its judgment. As a result, the applicants took the highly unusual step of approaching the Supreme Court of Appeal directly, effectively leapfrogging the High Court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear both the application for leave to appeal and argument on the merits.
After those hearings had taken place, and while the Supreme Court's judgment was reserved, Hlophe handed down the High Court's own ruling in early December: he refused the applicants leave to appeal. This was an extremely surprising decision, because South African courts generally permitted appeals of split judgments as a matter of course.
In the ruling, Hlophe castigated the applicants and their counsel, notably
Jeremy Gauntlett
Jeremy John Gauntlett SC, KC (born 10 November 1950) is a British–South African lawyer practising public and commercial law. He entered legal practice as an advocate in Cape Town in 1976 and was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in ...
, for having approached the Supreme Court before the High Court had made its decision.
This led the leaders of the
Cape Bar Council to issue a lengthy statement defending Gauntlett.
Notwithstanding Hlophe's decision to deny leave to appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeal handed down its own unanimous judgment three weeks later. The Supreme Court, quite contrary to the High Court, not only granted leave to appeal but also upheld the appeal, overturning the High Court's judgment. Judge of Appeal
Louis Harms
Georg Ludwig Detlef Theodor Harms (baptised as Ludwig, but called Louis during his life) (1808–1865) was a German Lutheran pastor who was nicknamed the "Reviver of the Heath" (''Erwecker der Heide''). One of the most significant Christian revi ...
was highly critical of Hlophe's conduct,
but, when asked about Harms's remarks, Hlophe told the ''
Star
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
'', "To be frank, I couldn't care less."
''Thubelisha Homes v Various Occupants''
In March 2008, Hlophe handed down judgment in ''Thubelisha Homes v Various Occupants'', in which he controversially awarded the state an
eviction
Eviction is the removal of a Tenement (law), tenant from leasehold estate, rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosure, foreclosed by a mortgagee (often ...
order to remove thousands of residents of
Joe Slovo
Yossel Mashel "Joe" Slovo (23 May 1926 – 6 January 1995) was a South African politician and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. A Marxist-Leninist, he was a long-time leader and theorist in the South African Com ...
from the site of the
N2 Gateway Project. The judgment was criticised by the
Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign was a non-racial popular movement made up of poor and oppressed communities in Cape Town, South Africa. ; by
Pierre de Vos
Pierre Francois de Vos (born 29 June 1963) is a South African constitutional law academic. He holds the Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Before taking up that position in July 2009, ...
, who called it "completely devoid of compassion and also legally misguided"; and by other commentators who questioned its interpretation of the doctrine of
legitimate expectations
The doctrine of legitimate expectation was first developed in English law as a ground of judicial review in administrative law to protect a procedural or substantive interest when a public authority rescinds from a representation made to a pers ...
.
When the Constitutional Court heard the matter on appeal, Justice
Kate O'Regan
Catherine "Kate" O'Regan (born 17 September 1957) is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. From 2013 to 2014 she was a commissioner of the Khayelitsha Commission and is now the inaugural director of the Bonavero Institute ...
said that Hlophe's order "really bothers me" insofar as it failed to provide for the relocation of the evicted residents. This concern ultimately led the court to overturn Hlophe's judgment in part: in ''
Residents of Joe Slovo Community v Thubelisha Homes'', the Constitutional Court sanctioned the eviction but imposed certain conditions on the state.
''Mulaudzi v Old Mutual''
In 2014, Hlophe presided in an application in ''Mulaudzi v Old Mutual'', a matter in which his personal attorney, Barnabas Xulu, represented the applicant; he granted the application over the objections of the respondent,
Old Mutual
Old Mutual (officially Old Mutual Limited) is a South African investment, savings, insurance, and banking group, operating across Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchan ...
, who argued that his relationship with Xulu created a
reasonable apprehension of bias __NOTOC__
Reasonable may refer to:
* Reason, the capacity for rational thinking
* Reasonable accommodation, An adjustment made in a system to accommodate an individual's need
* Reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing, a licensing requirement ...
. In a 2017 judgment described as "scathing", the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned Hlophe's order, saying that the respondents were correct to point out a reasonable apprehension of bias; per Judge of Appeal
Nathan Ponnan
Visvanathan Ponnan (born 17 August 1960) is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. He joined the Gauteng High Court in 2001 and was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeal in December 2004. Before that, he practised as an advo ...
, the problem was not only Hlophe's relationship with Xulu but also that his judgment relied on shallow and partial reasoning.
2005 racism row
In February 2005, South African media houses received a leaked copy of a 43-page report on racism among the lawyers and judges of the Cape Provincial Division; it had been compiled by Hlophe and submitted to the national
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
,
Brigitte Mabandla
Brigitte Sylvia Mabandla (born 23 November 1948) is a South African politician, lawyer and former anti-apartheid activist who served in the cabinet of South Africa from 2003 to 2009, including as the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Deve ...
. Among other things, the report singled out three individuals as racist: Deputy Judge President Traverso, Senior Counsel Gauntlett, and Hlophe's predecessor, retired Judge President King. Observers believed that the report – and particularly Hlophe's hostile attitude toward Gauntlett – stemmed from lingering resentments over the 2004 ''New Clicks'' saga;
indeed, Hlophe's report proposed that, "It all started with the ''New Clicks'' matter".
Amid the ensuing furore, Chief Justice
Arthur Chaskalson
Arthur Chaskalson SCOB, (24 November 1931 – 1 December 2012) was President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa from 1994 to 2001 and Chief Justice of South Africa from 2001 to 2005. Chaskalson was a member of the defence team in the ...
appointed a committee to consider the report and investigate Hlophe's claims.
In early October 2005, as the racism row simmered, press reported on two incidents in which Hlophe had apparently disparaged
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
colleagues. ''
Noseweek
''Noseweek'' is a monthly South Africa, South African tabloid published by Chaucer Publications that appeared in print from June 1993 to mid-2021. It is best known for regular legal action against it, including a failed bid at interdiction by banki ...
'' reported that, in a meeting in his chambers earlier that year, Hlophe had told a junior white
attorney, Joshua Greeff, "You're nothing but a piece of white shit and it's time you go back to
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
." Hlophe denied having said this, but another lawyer, Senior Counsel Dirk Uijs, signed an affidavit stating that he had been present in the meeting and had heard the exchange; this affidavit was attached to a formal complaint laid by the Cape Bar against Hlophe at the
Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Also in October, press reported that Hlophe had disparaged Western Cape Judge
Wilfred Thring while attending a cricket match in a social capacity. According to these reports, Hlophe said that he had allocated ''Mikro Primary School v Western Cape Minister of Education'', a high-profile
language rights
Linguistic rights are the human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere. Other parameters for analyzing linguistic rights include the ...
matter, to Thring "because I knew he would fuck up the trial and then it could be set right on appeal".
These remarks were apparently made in the presence of
Norman Arendse, the chairperson of the General Council of the Bar, who reportedly told Chief Justice Chaskalson about the incident in a letter.
While Hlophe denied the reports as part of a
smear campaign against him,
the
Democratic Alliance called for the JSC to take "decisive action" on allegations of racism by Hlophe.
The row was highly divisive in the
Western Cape
The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...
. On 14 October, Judge
Siraj Desai drafted and published a statement in defence of Hlophe; signed by 13 of the Cape Division's 28 judges, the statement expressed alarm that the allegations against Hlophe were "patently calculated to impede the transformation agenda of the judiciary". The Black Lawyers' Association (BLA) likewise said that it would lodge a complaint with the
South African Human Rights Commission
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994.
Commissio ...
about what it described as the Cape Bar Council's opposition to demographic transformation. Later that week, during a three-day JSC meeting in
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, recently appointed Chief Justice
Pius Langa
Pius Nkonzo Langa SCOB (25 March 1939 – 24 July 2013) was Chief Justice of South Africa from June 2005 to October 2009. Formerly a human rights lawyer, he was appointed as a puisne judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa upon its in ...
presided over attempts to negotiate a resolution to the controversy, and the Cape Bar Council dropped its complaint against Hlophe in respect of the Greeff incident. Langa announced on 19 October that no further action would be taken against any of the parties, all of whom had agreed to "stabilise relationships between the judiciary and legal profession of this province".
Conflict of interest complaints
In 2006, the JSC confronted a mounting stack of complaints against Hlophe, including several lodged by opposition politician
Steve Swart, a representative of the
African Christian Democratic Party
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) is a South African political party founded in 1993. It is a conservative Christian Christian party based on Biblical principles. The leader of the party is Kenneth Meshoe.
Following the 2016 municipa ...
, and by advocate Peter Hazell, who sought Hlophe's impeachment. The most important complaints related to alleged
conflicts of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in whi ...
that had been the subject of media reports and considerable controversy. In 2006 and 2007, the JSC deliberated at length on the question of whether the complaints provided grounds for Hlophe's
impeachment
Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In Eur ...
. Hlophe responded with consistent denials of wrongdoing and occasionally with levity: in one court hearing in the
Travelgate
The White House travel office controversy, sometimes referred to as Travelgate,
'' prosecutions, Hlophe jokingly asked whether he was required to disclose having accepted a bottle of water from lawyer Seth Nthai.
Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes
The first conflict-of-interest complaint pertained to the Cape Town law firm
Smith, Tabata, Buchanan, Boyes (STBB), which had awarded a
bursary
A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...
to Hlophe's son Thuthuka. An STBB partner,
Derek Wille, had become friends with Hlophe at the University of Natal in 1982 and had been an acting judge on Hlophe's bench. The firm denied that Hlophe had received any special treatment, and the JSC dismissed the complaint in 2006, accepting Hlophe's evidence that he had lacked any knowledge of the bursary payments to his son – at the time, his son was not living at home but was employed as a boarder-master at the
South African College Schools
The South African College Schools (colloquially often known as “SACS”) is a public English medium primary and high education institution situated in Newlands – part of the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town in the Western Cape provinc ...
.
Oasis Group
The second, more serious complaint pertained to Oasis Group Holdings, an investment firm that appeared in Hlophe's court on several occasions.
Hlophe's relationship to Oasis was first reported on in early 2005, when Oasis was suing Hlophe's colleague, Judge Siraj Desai, for
defamation
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
. Civil lawsuits against sitting judges could not go ahead without the authorisation of the Judge President and, in the case of Oasis, Desai alleged that Hlophe's authorisation had been improperly given.
At the time,
IOL
Cherchell () is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea Mauretaniae, Caesarea, it was formerly a Colonia (Roman), Roman colony and th ...
reported that Hlophe's Umlibo Trust part-owned the Oasis Asset Management Company, one of the Oasis Group's holdings.
In a major escalation in March 2006, ''Noseweek'' reported that Hlophe had received a monthly
retainer
Retainer may refer to:
* Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth
* RFA Retainer (A329), RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship
* Retainers in early China, a social group in early China
Employment
* Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer p ...
from Oasis while serving as Judge President.
According to initial reports, he received
R10,000 a month as a legal consultant to the company between April 2002 and March 2003.
Evidence later submitted in Desai's defamation case suggested that he had received a total of almost R500,000 over a 39-month period: a once-off payment of R25,000 in 2002; R120,000 across twelve payments in 2003; R147,500 across twelve payments in 2004; R150,000 across twelve payments in 2005; and R25,000 across two payments in 2006.
The evidence also showed that Hlophe had declined to authorise the defamation lawsuit on several occasions from December 2001 onwards, before in October 2004 he allowed the lawsuit to go ahead.
Hlophe said that the payments were not a retainer but recompense for "expenses" he had incurred as an Oasis trustee.
On the accusation that he had failed to disclose a conflict of interest, he said that former Justice Minister
Dullah Omar
Abdullah Mohamed Omar OLS (26 May 1934 – 13 March 2004), better known as Dullah Omar, was a South African anti-Apartheid activist, lawyer, and a minister in the South African cabinet from 1994 until his death.
Early life and education
B ...
had given him permission to receive money from a private company.
The incumbent Justice Ministry denied having any knowledge of such an agreement,
and the ''
Mail & Guardian
The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...
'' pointed out that Omar had left the Justice Ministry in 1999, over a year before the relevant Oasis vehicle was established. Critics suggested that Hlophe's receipt of the payments might constitute a criminal violation of the
Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act,
as well as "an egregious conflict of interest". In April 2006, Justice Minister Mabandla said that she had granted Hlophe's request to take long leave while the JSC was investigating the allegations. He told the press that he would use the break to finish writing his autobiography, ''From Gardener to Judge''.
In early December 2006, the JSC announced that it had decided not to pursue the matter, saying that there was no evidence to contradict Hlophe's assertion that Minister Omar had authorised him to receive money from Oasis. The ''Mail & Guardian'' reported that the JSC was starkly divided on the matter, with advocate
George Bizos
George Bizos (; 14 November 19279 September 2020) was a Greek-South African human rights lawyer who campaigned against apartheid in South Africa. He was noted for representing Nelson Mandela during the Rivonia Trial. He instructed Mandela to ad ...
leading the charge for a full public investigation. By mid-2007, the matter had been revived by Hazell's impeachment campaign and by Hlophe's other antagonists in civil society. However, on 4 October 2007, the JSC announced that it would not pursue the matter further. Chief Justice Langa said that the panel was in unanimous agreement that it had been inappropriate for Hlophe not to disclose his relationship with Oasis, but nonetheless had been divided on whether there was sufficient evidence to sustain a public inquiry and impeachment. Sources told the ''Mail & Guardian'' that Bizos and
Craig Howie
Craig Telfer Howie (born 10 September 1938) is a South African judge and former President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa.
Early life and education
Howie was born in Cape Town and attended Diocesan College, where he matriculat ...
had been among the members pushing for further investigation, while Seth Nthai and
Bernard Ngoepe were among those who opposed it.
JSC exoneration
The JSC's announcement in October 2007 led to a flurry of mutual recriminations in the legal society, as Hlophe's critics condemned what they described as a
cover up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...
by the JSC. 14 legal academics at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
drafted and signed an open letter expressing concern about the JSC's decision.
More controversially, retired Constitutional Court Justice
Johann Kriegler
Johann Christiaan Kriegler (born 29 November 1932) is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from February 1995 to November 2002. Formerly a practising silk in Johannesburg, he joined the bench as a ...
wrote an open letter in the ''
Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' in which he argued that Hlophe was not fit to hold judicial office. Eight
silks of the Cape Bar signed another open letter, this one in the ''
Cape Times
The ''Cape Times'' is an English-language morning newspaper owned by Sekunjalo Investments, Independent News & Media SA and published in Cape Town, South Africa.
the newspaper had a daily readership of 261000 and a circulation of 34523. By th ...
'', expressing agreement with Kriegler and calling on Hlophe to resign from the bench. Indeed, the ''Mail & Guardian'' reported that members of the Cape Bar Council had met to discuss the matter and were considering organising a boycott of the court.
Conversely, the BLA welcomed the JSC's decision, expressed support for Hlophe, and released a statement suggesting that Kriegler should be sanctioned for "unprecedented and improper grandstanding". The BLA's Dumisa Ntsebeza argued that Kriegler's statement "evinced disrespect" for the JSC.
Defamation lawsuit
In March 2008, Judge
Steven Majiedt
Steven Arnold Majiedt (born 18 December 1960) is a South African judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He joined the Constitutional Court in October 2019 as an appointee of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Formerly a practicing advocate, ...
of the
Northern Cape High Court granted Winston Nagan authorisation to sue Hlophe for
defamation
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
.
Nagan, a law professor at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
, had formerly been an acting judge in Hlophe's division and claimed that Hlophe had defamed him in remarks made in the courtroom in 2007;
Hlophe had blamed Nagan for delays in certain judgments, saying that other judges had to step in to finalise Nagan's cases. Hlophe opposed the suit. He was served with summons in a R6-million claim in July 2009.
Constitutional Court nominations
In mid-2009, a private lobby group named the Justice for Hlophe Alliance lodged an unusual "political-style campaign" calling for Hlophe to be appointed as
Chief Justice of South Africa
The chief justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts.
The position of chief justic ...
after Pius Langa's retirement.
Paul Ngobeni was regarded as the leader of this campaign,
and its cornerstone was Hlophe's calls for the demographic transformation of the
South African judiciary and the "Africanisation" of
South African law
South Africa has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a common law system inherited from the British, and a customary law syst ...
. Observers believed, however, that his chances were hurt by a pending complaint against him at the JSC .
Sandile Ngcobo became the sole nominee for the Chief Justice position, though Hlophe's supporters continued to position Hlophe as Ngcobo's future successor. Hlophe was, however, one of more than 20 candidates shortlisted for possible appointment to four other vacancies on the Constitutional Court bench. Indeed, the ''Mail & Guardian'' identified him as a frontrunner. The JSC interviewed him in
Kliptown
Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which form ...
in September 2009 in the presence of a small group of supporters wearing Hlophe-branded T-shirts.
His interview was tense – among other things, he was pressed about the pending and past misconduct complaints – and he was not among the seven judges whom the JSC recommended for elevation.
Over a decade later, as Chief Justice
Mogoeng Mogoeng
Mogoeng Thomas Reetsang Mogoeng (born 14 January 1961) is a South African jurist who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa from 8 September 2011 until his retirement on 11 October 2021.
Early life
Mogoeng was born on 14 January 1961 in G ...
approached retirement in 2021, Hlophe was again nominated for the Chief Justice position, on that occasion by the Black Lawyers Association, the SA Natives Forum, and Democracy in Action. The
Economic Freedom Fighters
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, and his allies, on 26 July 20 ...
also endorsed his candidacy. However, he was not shortlisted for the vacancy.
Gross misconduct and impeachment
In June 2008, the bench of the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
lodged a formal complaint against Hlophe at the JSC, alleging that he had attempted improperly to interfere with its deliberations in the matter of ''
Thint v NDPP''.
That matter concerned the
ongoing corruption investigation into politician
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...
, who became the
President of South Africa
The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...
in 2009. Justices
Bess Nkabinde
Baaitse Elizabeth "Bess" Nkabinde-Mmono (; born 15 May 1959) is a South African retired judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from January 2006 to December 2017. During that time, she was acting Deputy Chief Justice of Sou ...
and
Chris Jafta
Christopher Nyaole Jafta (born 1959) is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from October 2009 to October 2021. Formerly an academic and practising advocate in the Transkei, he joined the bench in ...
alleged that Hlophe had attempted to sway their judgment in Zuma's favour. These allegations launched a 15-year-long public controversy and protracted multi-party litigation in multiple courts. At the height of the scandal, Hlophe was placed on special leave between May 2008 and September 2009. He denied the justices' allegations and claimed that they were part of a political conspiracy against Zuma's allies.
In April 2021, a Judicial Conduct Tribunal concluded unanimously that Hlophe had committed gross and impeachable misconduct in attempting improperly to influence Justices Nkabinde and Jafta. The tribunal, chaired by retired Judge Joop Labuschagne, found that Hlophe's actions violated the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
and "seriously threatened" the independence and dignity of the Constitutional Court. In August 2021, this finding was endorsed by the JSC, which referred to the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
its recommendation that Hlophe should be impeached in terms of Section 177 of the Constitution. While Hlophe pursued legal appeals, the JSC recommended in July 2022 that Hlophe should be suspended from judicial office pending impeachment proceedings; President
Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...
effected his suspension in December that year.
Despite further legal challenges by Hlophe, the National Assembly adopted a resolution to impeach him on 21 February 2024. On 5 March, the ''
Sunday Independent'' reported that President Ramaphosa had written to Hlophe to inform him that his impeachment had been effected on 1 March. Ramaphosa released public confirmation the following day. Hlophe became the first South African judge to be impeached since the end of apartheid.
Misconduct complaint by Patricia Goliath
Allegations
On 15 January 2020, while Hlophe was battling the Constitutional Court justices' complaint against him, Western Cape Deputy Judge President
Patricia Goliath
Patricia Lynette Goliath (born 15 October 1964) is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. She has been the acting Judge President of the Western Cape Division since December 2022, when John Hlophe was suspended and then impeac ...
lodged her own complaint against him at the JSC.
The complaint traversed a wide range of serious allegations, including that Hlophe had physically assaulted another judge in chambers (later identified as Judge
Mushtak Parker), that he had created "a climate of fear and intimidation" in the Western Cape Division, and that he had given
nepotistic
Nepotism is the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In concept it is similar to cr ...
favourable treatment to his wife, Judge
Gayaat Salie-Hlophe.
Goliath's compliant said that Hlophe had sidelined her to such an extent that she occupied the deputy judge presidency "in name only";
in her account, this was partly the result of personal resentments stemming from an incident in 2017, when Salie-Hlophe had asked Goliath to take her to the hospital after an altercation at Hlophe's home.
Commentators wondered whether this was an oblique reference to a
domestic violence
Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
incident.
Perhaps most seriously, Goliath alleged that, in 2015, Hlophe had intervened in the administration of ''Earthlife Africa Johannesburg v Minister of Energy'', a politically sensitive case in which civil society groups lodged a successful challenge to President Zuma's
Russian nuclear deal.
Goliath claimed that Hlophe had attempted to persuade Goliath to allocate the case to two judges whom he perceived as "favourably disposed" toward Zuma; according to her, he informed her that "criticism of former President Jacob Zuma with regard to the controversial nuclear deal was unwarranted".
Response
Hlophe and Salie-Hlophe responded through their lawyer, Barnabas Xulu, who dismissed Goliath's allegations as baseless rumour-mongering.
In subsequent statements, Salie-Hlophe accused Goliath of fostering "an unhealthy obsession with my marriage",
and Hlophe alleged that Goliath had encouraged Salie-Hlophe to "file charges of a fake assault" after the 2017 incident, which he denied had involved domestic violence. The General Council of the Bar urged Hlophe and his wife to take special leave pending a JSC inquiry.
The Judicial Conduct Committee appointed
Nambitha Dambuza
Nambitha Dambuza (born 31 October 1964) is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. A former attorney, she sat in the Eastern Cape High Court from 2005 until her appointment to the Supreme Court in June 2015.
Early life and ca ...
, an appellate judge, to investigate. In March 2021, Dambuza reported that there was no evidence of misconduct by Salie-Hlophe and recommended a broader investigation of the 2017 domestic incident, to include the question of whether Goliath herself had committed misconduct against the Hlophe couple.
In November 2023, however, the Judicial Conduct Committee reversed Dambuza's recommendation, concluding that there was no need to investigate Goliath and that Hlophe should face an impeachment charges in respect of the allegations contained in Goliath's complaint. That process became moot when Hlophe was impeached on separate charges.
Alleged assassination plot
In mid-2020, at the peak of the dispute between Goliath and Hlophe, a whistleblower alleged that Hlophe had contracted hitmen to
assassinate
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
Goliath.
Hlophe strongly denied the allegations, which his lawyer called "a corrupt attack on him and ultimately on
judicial independence
Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
", and he called for a judicial commission of inquiry into the origin of the allegations.
Political career: 2024–present
uMkhonto weSizwe
Hlophe was not on the
uMkhonto weSizwe
uMkhonto weSizwe (; abbreviated MK; ) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its mission was to fight against the South African government to brin ...
's (MK) original list of candidates for the
2024 South African General Election
General elections were held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly (South Africa), National Assembly as well as the Provincial legislature (South Africa), provincial legislature in each of the Provinces of South Africa, ...
. On 24 June 2024,
Mkhonto weSizwe instructed over 100 members to withdraw from its reserve list of parliamentary candidates to allow 21 new people, including Hlophe, to represent the party in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
.
In June 2024, Hlophe was selected to represent
uMkhonto weSizwe
uMkhonto weSizwe (; abbreviated MK; ) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its mission was to fight against the South African government to brin ...
as its chief whip in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
.
JSC
In July 2024, MK nominated Hlophe as their candidate to stand on the
Judicial Service Commission (JSC). His nomination was opposed by the
Democratic Alliance (DA),
Freedom Front Plus
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus or FF+; , ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Corné Mulder. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African Third Cabin ...
(FF+) and the
African Christian Democratic Party
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) is a South African political party founded in 1993. It is a conservative Christian Christian party based on Biblical principles. The leader of the party is Kenneth Meshoe.
Following the 2016 municipa ...
(ACDP), citing his impeachment as a judge. He was appointed a week later. However a number of parties applied to the court to prevent him from taking his seat, with the court ruling against Hlophe. In October 2024, MK withdrew its nomination of Hlophe.
Personal life
Hlophe was formerly married to Nompumelelo Hlophe (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Shongwe), with whom he had children.
He was later married to Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe between 2015 and 2022; he
converted to Islam
Reversion to Islam, also known within Islam as reversion, is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. Conversion requires a formal statement of the '' shahādah'', the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there is none w ...
ahead of the marriage. One of his children, Thuthuka Hlophe, pled guilty to
fraud
In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
in 2012.
Commentators often teased Hlophe for his apparent penchant for luxury goods. This was partly the result of his infamous fondness for
game hunting
Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the "game", is typically a mature male specimen from a popular species of collectable ...
and
winemaking
Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
;
among his various business interests was a stake in a wine farm in
Agter-Paarl and a company called Malebo Farmer's Wine, which he formed in 2005 with an eye to branding "Hlophe
shiraz
Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...
".
It was also the result of reports that, in 2007, he wrote to the
Department of Transport and Public Works with a request to upgrade his official vehicle, a
Mercedes-Benz ML500, to a
Porsche Cayenne
The Porsche Cayenne is a series of automobiles manufactured by the German company Porsche since 2002. It is a luxury crossover SUV, and has been described as both a full-sized and a mid-sized vehicle. The first generation was known within Por ...
. In June 2011, he was briefly arrested on the
N1 near
Kraaifontein
Kraaifontein is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa and is located on the north-eastern outskirts of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality.
The name originated from the large number of crows (''Kraai'' in Afrikaans) that ...
for a traffic offence;
he paid an admission of guilt fine for overloading his
bakkie.
See also
*
Impeachment in South Africa Impeachment in South Africa is the process by which the legislative body of the Republic of South Africa addresses legal charges against a government official.
Union and republic
When the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, the only offi ...
References
External links
"Report on Racism in the Cape Provincial Division"at ''
Business Day
A business day normally means any day except a legal holiday. It may also mean a business day of operation, any of the days an organization operates. It depends on the local workweek which is dictated by local customs, religions, and business ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hlophe, John
1959 births
Living people
People from KwaDukuza Local Municipality
Zulu people
20th-century South African judges
21st-century South African judges
University of Natal alumni
University of Fort Hare alumni
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Jacob Zuma
Judges of the Western Cape High Court
South African Muslims
Converts to Islam
UMkhonto we Sizwe politicians
Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029