Parliament, Monday, 25 May 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development will tomorrow consider representations made by Judge Mushtak Parker following a finding of gross misconduct and recommendations to have him removed from office.
The committee has previously, in terms of Section 177 of the Constitution, invited Judge Parker to submit written representations on extenuating circumstances. In terms of this section, a judge may be removed from office only if the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) finds that the judge suffers from an incapacity, is grossly incompetent or is guilty of gross misconduct. The National Assembly must then call for the judge to be removed by a resolution adopted with a supporting vote of at least two thirds of its members.
The findings relate to an initial complaint lodged with the JSC by 10 judges of the Western Cape Division of the High Court in March 2020. They alleged gross misconduct on the part of Judge Parker, in that he gave two mutually exclusive statements under oath about his alleged assault at the hands of the then Judge President of the Division, Dr John Hlophe. The two statements were given within the context of a complaint lodged with the JSC by the Deputy Judge President of the Division, Judge Goliath, against the then Judge President Hlophe.
The Cape Bar Council lodged a further complaint in March 2020 alleging gross misconduct on the part of Judge Parker, in that he failed to disclose deficits on the trust account of his then law firm at the time when he being interviewed to become a judge.
The meeting will be available on the virtual platform and live streamed on YouTube.
Details of the meeting are as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Time: 09:30 am
Venue: Virtual platform/Zoom
Parliamentary committees are open to the media and the public. Journalists wishing to cover these meetings (including receiving links to virtual meetings) should send their cell phone numbers to Mlindi Mpindi at mmpindi@parliament.gov.za for inclusion in the Parliamentary Communications Services WhatsApp Group, where such information is shared. Journalists must send these requests from their official email addresses (no private email addresses).
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