Western Cape Division of the High Court Judge Mushtak Parker. (Photo: Office of the Chief Justice / X) 
As he faces impeachment, Mushtak Parker is in line to become the third judge in democratic South Africa, after John Hlophe and Nkola Motata, to be stripped of life benefits and to leave office in disgrace.
Judge Parker’s case revolves around an assault claim and subsequent perjury after he ‘misremembered’ the incident. Parker (71) has been on suspension for more than five years, earning an annual R1.2-million.
His alleged attacker, former Western Cape Division of the High Court Judge President John Hlophe, challenged Parker’s version of events.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_563329_509053.jpg "Former Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)")
The complaint against Parker was filed in 2020 by 10 fellow judges in the division, as well as the Cape Bar Council, in relation to Parker’s admission that he had been assaulted by Hlophe.
‘Misremembered’
Parker later told his colleagues he had “misremembered” the attack and attempted to retrieve an affidavit he had made confirming the violent incident, which took place in chambers in February 2019.
In so doing, Parker made himself guilty of the cardinal sin of “lying under oath”, or perjury.
The matter has now been referred to the Speaker of the National Assembly to crank up proceedings to remove Parker in terms of section 177(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) announced its decision after considering a report from the Judicial Conduct Tribunal, which sat in February 2025. Parker chose not to challenge or refute damning evidence. The JSC met in October 2025 to consider the tribunal’s report.
Read more: ‘Silence of the sacrificial lamb’ — Judge Mushtak Parker sinks own case by clamming up
Fear and loathing
The decision by the JSC put a full stop to at least five years of fear and loathing in the corridors of the division under the leadership of Hlophe.
In 2017, after a 13-minute interview with the JSC, Parker was recommended for appointment to the Bench. He had acted as a judge in the Eastern Cape division in 2005.
The second complaint against Parker by the Cape Bar Council related to that interview, when Parker failed to disclose that his law firm had been accused by the Legal Practice Council of abusing more than R8-million in client money in the firm’s trust account, resulting in a deficit. DM