John Hlophe’s failed mission — disgraced as a judge, thrown under the bus as a politician

A turning point in the tragic rise and fall of John Hlophe occurred in the chambers of the Constitutional Court building in 2008.

That is when the now impeached former Judge President of the Western Cape greeted Constitutional Court Judge Chris Jafta with “Sesithembele kinina [We are relying on you]”.

Hlophe’s mission at the time was to influence the judges of South Africa’s apex court hearing a corruption matter involving the then Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, to rule in his favour.

His latest mission ended on Friday, 7 November, with a defeated Hlophe referring to himself with a lower case “i” in an uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) WhatsApp group message that read, “Please be advised that i shall not attend plenary tomorrow. I believe i have been suspended. I have asked mzobe [MK head of “presidency”, Magasela Mzobe] to request the President to terminate my MKP membership than suspend me [sic]. I am awaiting communication now.”

Hlophe’s ghostwritten biography, Escaping the Gallows, must ring so hollow from under the bus.

Read more: Eleven things we learnt about SA’s leader of the opposition John Hlophe from his memoir

Dagger of betrayal

Many have felt Zuma’s dagger of betrayal.

The entire country, in fact. Nine wasted years, and we are still feeling the pain.

The R57-billion siphoned from the public purse, the #Guptaleaks. The deep institutional damage and rot now spilling out at the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s ad-hoc committee into police collusion with criminal cartels.

It took 16 years for Hlophe, fighting tooth and nail, not to be held to account for his attempt to sway the justices of the Constitutional Court. In the end, impeached and deprived of his state benefits, he left the judiciary in disgrace.

Read more: Twelve years on, Judge Hlophe finally appears before a tribunal to determine if he tried to interfere in Zuma’s trial

Last week, Zuma, the man Hlophe must have felt he could always rely on, especially during his term as president of South Africa, stuck the blade in.

Des ‘One-Night-Stand’ van Rooyen

“His Excellency” had just returned from a “successful” pilgrimage to Burkina Faso and Strongman of the Moment, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, when he went for his old protector-in-law.

“The party has taken a decision to issue a precautionary suspension to the Party’s Deputy President and the Leader of the MKP Parliament Caucus, Dr John Hlophe,” reads a media statement by the party.

“This decision is meant to affirm and send a strong message and the principle of collective leadership across all structures within the uMkhonto weSiwze Party.”

Zuma was triggered by Hlophe’s decision to remove the MK chief whip, Colleen Makhubele — who was appointed in May — and replace her with Des van Rooyen.

Van Rooyen had hardly made a dent in his chair when he was “disappointed” 24 hours later by Zuma. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

Collective of two

Hlophe staked and blew his promising career in the judiciary, denying he had ever attempted to shield Zuma from accountability.

Read more: The rise and (slow) fall of John Hlophe, the judge who almost took the judiciary down with him

In June, Hlophe wrote to “President” Zuma providing an “urgent update” on “several critical matters transpiring within the parliamentary caucus of the MK Party”.

He complained about the behaviour of Zuma’s daughter, MK MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, as well as MP Nhlamulo Ndhlela’s “disruptive behaviour”, which had “undermined the authority of the Party Leader and the Chief Whip”. Zuma-Sambudla, he charged, had created “unnecessary chaos” and had “disregarded repeated cautions”.

Hlophe removed Ndhlela from the whippery in June. He is now the MK spokesperson.

Around 10 national leaders have spun through MK’s revolving door since the party’s inception in 2023 and its surprising performance in the 2024 national elections.

Me, myself, I

Appointing new leaders in August, Zuma explained, “They say I am firing people all the time. We didn’t come here to play. If you want to play, we are not playing; that is why we are not going to go to a conference that has white money.”

Zuma, like US President Donald Trump, has always believed politics is about the money.

Floyd Shivambu’s sudden exit in July created a vacancy that was filled by Bongani Mncwango, the party’s eighth secretary-general. Former ANC convict Tony Yengeni was appointed last week as MK’s deputy president.

The Mail & Guardian has revealed that members of MK’s parliamentary caucus have approached Zuma and Yengeni about R70-million that is “missing” from the the party’s coffers.

The newspaper reported that MK’s parliamentary chief of staff, Vanessa Calvert, who is close to Zuma, had been suspended over the alleged disappearance, but no disciplinary action followed.

This is an unravelling story. DM