The Democratic Alliance DA has published a proposed Private Members Bill that seeks to prevent impeached former judges and heads of chapter 9 institutions from becoming members of Parliament MPs, members of provincial legislatures or councillors.
The draft Bill available to read here is authored by DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach , who urged interested parties to submit their comments.
DA seeks to bar impeached judges from ParliamentThe Bill will ensure that any judge or person appointed in terms of Chapter 9 of the Constitution that has been removed from office due to misconduct is disqualified from becoming a member of Parliament, provincial legislature or municipal council, Breytenbach said in a statement on Tuesday 5 August.
Allowing such individuals to become MPs brings the institution into disrepute and erodes public confidence in Parliament's ability to hold the executive and the judiciary accountable.
The proposed Bill follows uMkhonto weSizwe MK Partys decision to include former judge John Hlophe in its list of MPs after last years elections.
In February 2024, the National Assembly voted to impeach Hlophe, who was then Judge President of the Western Cape high court.
This came after a Judicial Services Commission JSC probe found him guilty of gross misconduct for attempting to improperly influence two Constitutional Court justices to violate their oaths of office. This was in relation to a matter involving former President Jacob Zuma .
President Cyril Ramaphosa subsequently removed Hlophe from office in March 2024. He became the first judge in South Africas democratic history to be removed from office.
However, he became an MK Party MP just months later. The party, which Zuma founded in 2023, also nominated him to serve in the JSC.
The DA and other organisations launched a successful court application challenging his JSC inclusion. The Western Cape high court ruled that Parliament could not designate Hlophe to serve in the JSC. The ex-judge also resigned from the body before the judgement was handed down.