Hlophe, Minister pulled into Desai defamation matter

This, says a report in The Mercury, comes amid allegations by Desai that Cape Judge President John Hlophe was not in a position to give Oasis permission to sue him, because he had received consultancy fees from the group and was a member of its board. Oasis says Hlophe gave the group consent to sue Desai on October 29 2004, but Desai alleges that Hlophe should not have dealt with the matter because of his relationship with the group. He has applied for leave to subpoena the Judge President to supply him with documents which he hopes will reveal the nature of Hlophe’s involvement with the company. But Oasis says that two words in the section of the Supreme Court Act, which states that permission is required to sue a judge, are inconsistent with the Constitution. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)

Oasis is suing Desai for R250 000, alleging he had accused the company of conducting a dishonest business and had made statements that harmed its reputation. However, according to the Cape Times, Desai wants to investigate the circumstances in which Hlophe gave consent for the action. When the case went to court in February, it emerged in papers that Hlophe had received close to R500 000 from Oasis around the time he had given the group consent to sue Desai. Desai\'s legal team asked the court for time to conduct such an investigation. Full Cape Times report