Impeached judge's challenge dismissed

The Constitutional Court has dismissed an application brought by impeached Judge Nkola John Motata, almost a year after he approached the court. A Daily Maverick report notes Motata went directly to the court to try to have his impeachment overturned, skipping the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). ‘The Constitutional Court has considered the application for direct access. It has concluded that no case has been made for direct access. The court has decided not to award access,’ the order reads. Judges Matter’s Mbekezeli Benjamin has noted that the threshold for direct access is set very high. ‘Generally, the Constitutional Court is reluctant to be the court of first and last instance,’ he said. But because of the wording of the order, Motata could still have a legal avenue to have his case heard, said Benjamin. ‘He challenges the basis of Parliament’s decision and so he could still challenge that in the High Court and then it will wind its way to the Constitutional Court. But for now, if he does not take that issue up, then it’s the end of the road,’ he said.

Motata approached the Constitutional Court in March 2024, requesting the court to set aside the National Assembly’s decision to have him removed. A News24 report says Motata had argued that the National Assembly did not have the jurisdiction to pass its resolution because the motion for his removal was placed before it ‘without a finding of gross misconduct by the JSC’ and thus not in line with the Constitution and the JSC Act. Rather, he had said, the finding before the National Assembly was made by the SCA. Motata had charged: ‘We submit that the SCA judgment constitutes a violation of the principle of separation of powers and its purpose to the highest order. Allowing the SCA or any court to take over the function of such an important constitutional institution would by itself be a serious indictment to, and a travesty of our Constitution. The SCA judgment undermines the constitutional safeguards created by the legislature in matters involving the removal of a judge from office. Judges, being human, may, if given a power to decide on the fate of their colleagues, as happened in this case, be tempted to use this power to protect one of their own or, at worst, to settle scores.’ Motata, who crashed his car into the wall of a residential home while drunk, was found guilty of misconduct and recommended he be removed from office for making offensive comments at the scene of the crash and advancing a defence he knew was untrue – that he was not drunk – at his criminal trial where he was ultimately found guilty of driving under the influence and fined R20 000.

Full News24 report

Full Daily Maverick report