Top judge impeached by South Africa’s parliament

In a big change, South Africa’s government has fired one of its most important judges for doing something wrong.

A study uncovered that John Hlophe, the top judge in Western Cape province, tried to pressure judges at the country’s highest court in a case involving former President Jacob Zuma.

In 2008, he asked two judges if they would help Mr. Zuma in a corruption case.

Mr Hlophe always said he didn’t do it.

The long time it took to impeach him was because there were many appeals and investigations.

The judge being removed has never happened before since the country became a democracy in 1994.

Another judge, Nkola Motata, was removed from his job because he acted badly and made racist comments after a car accident in 2007.

Mr Motata, who is now retired, was a judge in Gauteng province when the incident happened.

He also said that the accusation was not true.

President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to approve the decision and choose a date for their official removal.

The judges will no longer get any special benefits, like a monthly salary of over 1 million rand, a car allowance, and full medical care.

Mr Hlophe was removed from his job on Wednesday evening because most of the MPs voted for it.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC), the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), and some other smaller parties all supported the decision.

Mr Hlophe tried one more time to stop being removed, but the court said no.

He was removed from his position, and then Mr. Motata was also removed.

A group called the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) found that in 2008, Mr Hlophe tried to influence two out of eleven judges of the Constitutional Court to make a decision in Mr Zuma’s favor for his arms-deal corruption case.

Mr Zuma said he did not do anything wrong and it is not implied that he was involved in Mr. Hlophe’s actions

Both judges who were impeached didn’t answer the MPs’ choices. However, Mr Hlophe said in court documents that parliament’s job was not just to approve findings by the JSC, but to investigate on its own.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the party is happy about parliament’s decision, while the DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach said her party feels justified after “years of the ANC government delaying the judges’ removal. ”

It’s been 15 years since we’ve waited for this moment, but the impeachment of Judge Hlophe, or any judge, has big effects on how trustworthy the courts are in South Africa. It shows how important it is for judges to follow the highest moral rules, obey the law, and respect the constitution.

Ms Breytenbach said it shows that everyone, no matter how important they are, has to follow the law.

The Economic Freedom Fighters party voted against the impeachments. MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane said the judges were sorry and should be allowed to live in peace for the rest of their lives.

“Can we just let Judge Motata, who made a mistake, retire at home and enjoy his retirement. ” We know that Hlophe was very experienced and did his work with respect. “Let’s punish the ANC government,” she said in parliament, and her party’s supporters cheered.

Lawyer Alison Tilley from the group Judges Matter said the removals were a big moment in the country’s history.

“It took a while, but it proves that the systems to hold the judiciary accountable do work. ” We now have systems in place that make us feel sure that the same process won’t take as much time.