Johannesburg - EFF leader Julius Malema’s accusations against Minister Ronald Lamola in the final hours of the Chief Justice interviews has spilled out of the Sandton conference room and entered the political space.
Malema suggested that Lamola had asked Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to consider appointing Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo in an acting position at the Constitutional Court in June last year -- before he was shortlisted as a Chief Justice nominee -- as a way to prepare him for the current interviews.
This was seen as a sign that Lamola was setting Mlambo up for the top job, even before the shortlisting of candidates took place.
In a statement released on Saturday, the EFF said it noted "the shocking, unethical and deplorable revelations” at the Judicial Services Commission interviews.
"The EFF welcomes these revelations as evidence of judicial manipulation by the ANC government. Minister Lamola specifically singled out Judge Mlambo to be appointed so that he gains experience of the Constitutional Court. Without this experience, Mlambo would have arrived at the JSC interviews for Chief Justice without ever having acted in the Constitutional Court.
“Therefore, Lamola insisted on him so as to make him a viable and legitimate choice in the race for the head of the Constitutional Court. Judge Mlambo clearly comes with a Lamola anointing on his head," the statement read.
The party then went ahead and called for Lamola’s removal from the Cabinet.
"The EFF will also consider reporting both Ramaphosa and Lamola to the police, Scopa (the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Public Accounts) and the Public Protector."
"Since Lamola acted on Ramaphosa's behalf, the police must investigate a possible conspiracy to predetermine the appointment of Mlambo as Chief Justice of the country,” the statement read.
During Zondo’s interview, Malema and Lamola erupted into a screaming match.
Lamola denied that there was anything illegal about his request to Zondo, and insisted the request was made lawfully, was within his rights as a minister of justice, and made before Mlambo was shortlisted as a Chief Justice candidate.
On Saturday afternoon, while deliberations among the JSC commissioners continued, the Justice Ministry hit back at the EFF by releasing its own statement.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, said it noted what appeared to be a “deliberate distortion” of the appointment process for acting judges of the Constitutional Court.
The ministry cited Section 175 (1) of the Constitution that states:
“The President may appoint a woman or a man to serve as an acting Deputy Chief Justice or judge of the Constitutional Court if there is a vacancy in any of those offices, or if the person holding such an office is absent. The appointment must be made on the recommendation of the Cabinet member responsible for the administration of justice, acting with the concurrence of the Chief Justice.
“To suggest that this process, as prescribed by the Constitution, is judicial capture or manipulation is disingenuous at best. The minister is constitutionally obliged to recommend an acting appointment with the concurrence of the Chief Justice. It follows that communication between the minister, (Acting) Chief Justice, or a Judge President, as the case may be, to facilitate this process is not unethical or a desire to fulfil a conspiracy, but rather it is an inevitable outcome of a constitutional obligation,” Phiri said.
He added that the insinuation that Lamola sought to enhance the appointment-ability of a Chief Justice candidate by suggesting that the candidate be appointed to act in a vacancy in the Constitutional Court “is designed not only to malign the minister, but also to undermine confidence in the judiciary”.
“The conspiracy is not borne out by the facts, or the law. It is for this reason that the minister did not hesitate to share all the relevant letters with the Judicial Service Commissioners. The process to appoint acting justices for the Constitutional Court occurred well before the president nominated Chief Justice candidates,” Phiri said.
kailene.pillay@inl.co.za
Political Bureau