Premier causes costly delay at JSC hearing

Free State Premier Ace Magashule angered some JSC commissioners yesterday when his late arrival – not the first time he had been late according to one commissioner – delayed interviews of would-be judges in Cape Town, notes Legalbrief. This led to a spat between him and some of the commissioners, according to a Business Day report. The commission was interviewing candidates for the Free State High Court – and the commission is only properly constituted if a Premier of the division’s province is present. The commission’s programme was already tight and Magashule’s delay meant all the interviews had to be rescheduled – a costly exercise. By 5pm, when the interviews were supposed to be over, there were still three candidates waiting to appear before the commission. Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke asked Magashule to place on record why he had been unable to make it on time. Magashule said his flight from Bloemfontein on Tuesday night had been full and that he was only able to get another one yesterday morning. He apologised for the delay.