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By Siviwe Feketha 
11h ago
Constitutional Court Judge Chris Jafta told the Court of Judicial Conduct how his friendship with Western Cape Chief Justice John Hlophe made him reluctant to file a complaint over Hlophe’s alleged attempt to influence him and his colleague. Bess Nkabinde in 2008.
Hlophe is accused of having tried to improperly influence Jafta and Nkabinde to help decide in favor of former President Jacob Zuma in the saga of arms deals 12 years ago.
Jafta told the court on Tuesday that he was not yet considered a whistleblower in the saga.
He recounted what Hlophe called him in March 2008 and organized a meeting where they discussed wide-ranging topics, including professional privilege in relation to the seizure of documents by law enforcement agencies in the Zuma saga.
Hlophe is represented by renowned British criminal defense advocate Courtenay Griffiths, who asked Jafta to explain her impression of what Hlophe meant when she said “sesithembele kinina” when they discussed the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling on the Zuma matter. .
“What I understood was in the context that, here is a judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeals that, as I recall in his words, had received the law incorrectly. So, in that context, I understood that he meant that the Constitutional Court, like the supreme court, will have to correct what was wrong in the SCA’s judgment, ”said Jafta.
Griffiths pressured the judge to admit that Hlophe’s concerns during their discussion were related to the law and not Zuma.
Jafta also recounted how Nkabinde told her in April that Hlophe was trying to arrange a meeting with her the next day, apparently to discuss the case.
“She told me that the presiding judge had called her to arrange a meeting with her. She reported that she wanted to see her to talk about privilege. She wondered what he meant, ”he said.
Jafta told the court that he had not thought of filing a complaint against Hlophe, despite the fact that then-Chief Justice Pias Langa and then-Supreme Court Vice President Dikgang Moseneke told him and Nkabinde to file it in May 2008 after that they found out about Hlophe’s actions.
“When they said there seemed to be some wrongdoing, we discussed it and I said, well, if there was any wrongdoing I think I handled the matter quite effectively and I’m not going to make any complaints.
“During that discussion, they said that ‘he may have handled it effectively on a personal level, but what he has just confirmed to us also constitutes a threat to the court as an institution and we, as leaders, feel bound by duty.’ ‘. to address the issue, ‘”he said.
In June of that year, Langa filed a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against Hlophe.
Jafta said he and Nkabinde made it clear in a joint statement that they did not see themselves as whistleblowers and had no intention of making statements on the matter as requested by the JSC.
He said he didn’t want to complain about Hlophe because it would be undesirable.
“What complicated the matter here was that the presiding judge (Hlophe) is my friend and I thought it would not be desirable for him to do that. During the deliberations, I pointed out that if the matter goes further and is addressed by the JSC, it could be inevitable that I testify and I felt uncomfortable doing so, ”said Jafta.
On Monday, the court began its hearings with the evidence of a language expert, Professor Langalibalele Felix Mathenjwa, who was brought in by Hlophe’s defense to analyze the meaning of “sesithembele kinina”.
He testified that the phrase had five possible meanings and that Jafta could have misunderstood it, as he was not a first language speaker of isiZulu.
Meanings included: “you are our last hope,” “we trust you,” “we put our hope in you,” “we put our trust in you,” and “we trust you.”
MESS
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