To The Hon Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission
Judicial Service Comrnssion
Constitutional Court
Braamfontein
2017
JOINT STATEMENT BY JUSTICE NKABINDE AND JAFTA
With reference to the letter from the Judicial Service Commission dated 6 June 2008 addressed to the Constitutional Court requesting statements by each of the "complainant Judges" we wish to state as follows:
- For the record, we wish to state that we have not lodged a complaint and do not intend to lodge one and, consequently, we are not "complainant Judges".
- With regard to the request by the Judicial Service Commission for statements from us we wish to state that we are prepared to make only this joint statement, and no other.
- We place on record that, from the moment the matter about Judge President Hlophe's visits was reported by O'Regan ADCJ to me Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke, we have on a number of occasions informed Chief Justice Langa and Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke that we were not intending to lodge a complaint and neither we were [sic] willing to make statements about the matter.
- We further record that on 28 May 2008, we attended a meeting called by Chief Justice Langa and Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke. We had occasion to discuss the issue that formed the subject of the complaint against Judge President Hlophe. We again made it clear to them that we were not intending to lay a complaint against Judge President Hlophe and neither did we intend making any statement about the matter. Reasons for such decisions were given to them.
•5. Save for what is stated in the preceding paragraph, we are not at liberty to disclose the content of our discussion with the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice, but wish to state that should they wish to disclose such content to the Judicial Service Commission, we have no objection thereto.
Signed
Nkabinde, JA
Judge of the Constitutional Court
Jafta JA
Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal
Date: 12 June 2008
CC: Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke