Quote of the week
Universal adult suffrage on a common voters roll is one of the foundational values of our entire constitutional order. The achievement of the franchise has historically been important both for the acquisition of the rights of full and effective citizenship by all South Africans regardless of race, and for the accomplishment of an all-embracing nationhood. The universality of the franchise is important not only for nationhood and democracy. The vote of each and every citizen is a badge of dignity and of personhood. Quite literally, it says that everybody counts. In a country of great disparities of wealth and power it declares that whoever we are, whether rich or poor, exalted or disgraced, we all belong to the same democratic South African nation; that our destinies are intertwined in a single interactive polity.
August and Another v Electoral Commission and Others (CCT8/99) [1999] ZACC 3
JSC Conduct Tribunal statement on Judge Motata
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
JUDICIAL CONDUCT TRIBUNAL
MEDIA RELEASE
21 February 2014
Judicial Conduct Tribunal to deal with preliminary issues raised by Judge Motata
On 06 January 2007, Judge Motata of the Gauteng Division of the High Court was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Gleneagles Road in Hurlingham, Johannesburg, in which he crashed into a wall belonging to Mr Baird. Arising from this incident, the JSC received two complaints lodged by AfriForum and Adv G C Pretorius SC. The essence of AfriForum‘s complaint is that Judge Motata, whilst at the scene of the said accident made some racist remarks against Mr Baird. Advocate Pretorius’ complaint relates to the manner in which the respondent pleaded to the charges he faced at his criminal trial in which he denied that he was driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and that he conducted his defence in a manner inconsistent with the ethics of judicial office.
On 22 February 2014, the Judicial Conduct Tribunal (Tribunal) mandated to investigate and report on the complaints lodged by AfriForum and Advocate G C Pretorious SC will sit to consider preliminary issues raised by Judge Motata.
One of the preliminary issues raised by Judge Motata is that the Tribunal should not proceed to hear the merits of the complaints while there is a constitutional challenge to section 24 of the Judicial Service Commission Act, 1994 which empowers the Tribunal President to appoint a member of the National Prosecuting Authority to collect evidence on behalf of the Tribunal, pending in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in the litigation initiated by Justices Nkabinde and Jafta.
The Tribunal proceedings will commence at 11h00 at the Southern Sun – OR Tambo International Airport located at the Airports Grounds, Jones Road.
Issued by the Judicial Conduct Tribunal
Contact: Mr Sello Chiloane, 079881 4455
Email: Chiloane@concourt.org.za
