Hlophe withdraws from Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s impeachment case

• In a letter sent by Judge John Hlophe just after the DA requested his recusal he attributes the reasons for his withdrawal to the public’s statements about him.
• Initially Hlophe had allocated himself with Judges Elizabeth Baartman and Mokgoatji Dolamo to hear the case, set to start on June 7.
• In a letter by the DA’s attorney sent to Hlophe’s office, it stated that Hlophe allocating himself to the case was of concern to the party.

Western Cape Judge John Hlophe has withdrawn as a judge from the case involving Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane challenging the constitutionality of Parliament’s impeachment rules.

In a letter sent to DA lawyer Elzanne Jonker by Hlophe just after the DA had requested his recusal, he says that given the public’s statements about him and attributed to his lawyers, “… perhaps I should not sit in the matter even though I would be one of three judges and the DA is one of several parties, I accordingly withdraw from the matter”.

Initially, Hlophe had allocated himself with Judges Elizabeth Baartman and Mokgoatji Dolamo to hear the case. The case is scheduled to start on June 7.