57 Facts About John Hlophe

Mandlakayise John Hlophe was born on 19 May 1959 and is a South African jurist and politician, currently serving as the Deputy President of uMkhonto weSizwe and the Leader of the Opposition of South Africa.

John Hlophe was the Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa from May 2000 until March 2024, when he was impeached.

John Hlophe was the first South African judge to be impeached under the post-apartheid Constitution.

John Hlophe taught at the University of Natal from 1988 to 1990 and at the University of Transkei from 1990 to 1994.

John Hlophe was shortlisted for elevation to the Constitutional Court in 2009.

John Hlophe was born on 19 May 1959 in Madundube, a rural area of Stanger in the former Natal Province.

John Hlophe 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.

John Hlophe became politically conscious as a result of the 1976 Soweto uprising and his education at the Ohlange High School in nearby Durban, where he matriculated in 1978.

John Hlophe attended the University of Fort Hare from 1979 to 1981, completing a BJuris, and went on to complete an LLB at the University of Natal in 1983.

John Hlophe returned briefly to Natal in 1985, lecturing in law at the University of Zululand's KwaDlangezwa campus, but later that year he undertook doctoral studies at Cambridge on an Africa Educational Trust scholarship.

Later in 1988, John Hlophe joined the faculty of the University of Natal, becoming a lecturer in law at the university's Pietermaritzburg campus.

John Hlophe worked there for two years before, in 1990, he moved to Mthatha, Eastern Cape to join the University of Transkei.

John Hlophe was promoted to professor and head of public law in 1992.

John Hlophe 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 and industrial relations.

John Hlophe took office on 1 January 1995 and, aged 35, he was one of the youngest judges in the country.

Constitutional law judgments written by John Hlophe were upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal in De Lille v Speaker of the National Assembly and by the Constitutional Court in SATAWU v Garvas.

In 2004, John Hlophe presided in Minister of Health v New Clicks, which gave rise to personal as well as legal controversy.

The majority judgment was written by Judge James Yekiso, joined by John Hlophe, and opposed in a dissenting judgment by Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso.

John Hlophe apparently linked this misconception to racism, and in the weeks thereafter, he complained publicly about "a calculated attempt to undermine the intellect and talent of African judges".

John Hlophe later accused Deputy Judge President Traverso of having started the rumour in question.

In March 2008, John Hlophe handed down judgment in Thubelisha Homes v Various Occupants, in which he controversially awarded the state an eviction order to remove thousands of residents of Joe Slovo from the site of the N2 Gateway Project.

In 2014, John 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, who argued that his relationship with Xulu created a reasonable apprehension of bias.

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 John Hlophe and submitted to the national Minister of Justice, Brigitte Mabandla.

In early October 2005, as the racism row simmered, press reported on two incidents in which John Hlophe had apparently disparaged white colleagues.

In 2006, the JSC confronted a mounting stack of complaints against John Hlophe, including several lodged by opposition politician Steve Swart, a representative of the African Christian Democratic Party, and by advocate Peter Hazell, who sought John Hlophe's impeachment.

John Hlophe responded with consistent denials of wrongdoing and occasionally with levity: in one court hearing in the Travelgate prosecutions, John Hlophe jokingly asked whether he was required to disclose having accepted a bottle of water from lawyer Seth Nthai.

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 John Hlophe's authorisation had been improperly given.

The evidence showed that John 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.

John Hlophe said that the payments were not a retainer but recompense for "expenses" he had incurred as an Oasis trustee.

John Hlophe told the press that he would use the break to finish writing his autobiography, From Gardener to Judge.

The JSC's announcement in October 2007 led to a flurry of mutual recriminations in the legal society, as John Hlophe's critics condemned what they described as a cover up by the JSC.

Eight silks of the Cape Bar signed another open letter, this one in the Cape Times, expressing agreement with Kriegler and calling on John Hlophe to resign from the bench.

Conversely, the BLA welcomed the JSC's decision, expressed support for John Hlophe, and released a statement suggesting that Kriegler should be sanctioned for "unprecedented and improper grandstanding".

John Hlophe was served with summons in a R6-million claim in July 2009.

In mid-2009, a private lobby group named the Justice for John Hlophe Alliance lodged an unusual "political-style campaign" calling for John Hlophe to be appointed as Chief Justice of South Africa after Pius Langa's retirement.

Paul Ngobeni was regarded as the leader of this campaign, and its cornerstone was John Hlophe's calls for the demographic transformation of the South African judiciary and the "Africanisation" of South African law.

Sandile Ngcobo became the sole nominee for the Chief Justice position, though John Hlophe's supporters continued to position John Hlophe as Ngcobo's future successor.

John Hlophe was one of more than 20 candidates shortlisted for possible appointment to four other vacancies on the Constitutional Court bench.

Over a decade later, as Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng approached retirement in 2021, John 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.

Justices Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta alleged that John Hlophe had attempted to sway their judgment in Zuma's favour.

At the height of the scandal, John Hlophe was placed on special leave between May 2008 and September 2009.

John Hlophe denied the justices' allegations and claimed that they were part of a political conspiracy against Zuma's allies.

The tribunal, chaired by retired Judge Joop Labuschagne, found that John Hlophe's actions violated the Constitution and "seriously threatened" the independence and dignity of the Constitutional Court.

John Hlophe became the first South African judge to be impeached since the end of apartheid.

On 15 January 2020, while John Hlophe was battling the Constitutional Court justices' complaint against him, Western Cape Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath lodged her own complaint against him at the JSC.

The complaint traversed a wide range of serious allegations, including that John Hlophe had physically assaulted another judge in chambers, that he had created "a climate of fear and intimidation" in the Western Cape Division, and that he had given nepotistic favourable treatment to his wife, Judge Gayaat Salie-John Hlophe.

Goliath claimed that John 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".

In March 2021, Dambuza reported that there was no evidence of misconduct by Salie-John Hlophe and recommended a broader investigation of the 2017 domestic incident, to include the question of whether Goliath herself had committed misconduct against the John Hlophe couple.

That process became moot when John Hlophe was impeached on separate charges.

John Hlophe strongly denied the allegations, which his lawyer called "a corrupt attack on him and ultimately on judicial independence", and he called for a judicial commission of inquiry into the origin of the allegations.

John Hlophe was not on the uMkhonto weSizwe's original list of candidates for the 2024 South African General Election.

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 John Hlophe, to represent the party in the National Assembly.

In June 2024, John Hlophe was selected to represent uMkhonto weSizwe as its chief whip in the National Assembly.

John Hlophe's nomination was opposed by the Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front Plus and the African Christian Democratic Party, citing his impeachment as a judge.

John Hlophe was formerly married to Nompumelelo John Hlophe, with whom he had children.

John Hlophe was later married to Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe between 2015 and 2022; he converted to Islam ahead of the marriage.

One of his children, Thuthuka John Hlophe, pled guilty to fraud in 2012.