Judge John Hlophe embroiled in 'sex, violence' and high court drama

Years of whispers about sex and violence in the corridors of the Cape Town high court culminated in a deafening explosion this week.

But a senior judge said the shock waves caused by deputy judge president Patricia Goliath's complaint about her boss, John Hlophe, 60, and his wife of five years, judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, 45, risked overshadowing the most serious allegation.

"She did a very wide complaint and the public will miss the point about the acting judges," said the senior judge, who did not wish to be named.

In her complaint to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), alleging gross misconduct by Hlophe and his wife, Goliath, 55, said Salie-Hlophe "wields enormous power" and "is actively involved in the management of the court, the allocation of matters and, most disturbingly, the appointment of acting judges".

The Sunday Times has established that two of the judges she referred to are Cape Town advocate Bryan Hack and Pietermaritzburg attorney Matthew Francis.

Hack was president of the Conservative Student Alliance at the University of Cape Town in 1980 when he and two others were tried under the Terrorism Act after shots were fired at the Clifton home of Progressive Federal Party MP Colin Eglin.

Hack was acquitted, but Goliath said he was a friend of Salie-Hlophe and his appointment as an acting judge "caused some consternation amongst the older judges".

She said she raised the issue with Hlophe, "who agreed that this person should not be reappointed". But when she left Cape Town for a stint at the Constitutional Court, "he was reappointed and continues to act for long periods. His presence underlines the power which Salie-Hlophe ... wields."

Serious complaints made against Western Cape judge president John Hlophe to the Judicial Service Commission since he took office

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Hack, 63, declined to comment.

Goliath said Francis, "for no apparent reason - and at great expense to the state - has been acting for over a year. There are rumours that his wife has a connection to Hlophe."

The KwaZulu-Natal attorney said he was unmarried and this could only refer to his ex-wife. They divorced 25 years ago.

"I know that [Hlophe] did in fact lecture with her. She sadly passed during last May. It is so unfortunate that she is now brought into something which I can tell you is absolutely false," he said.

The senior judge who spoke to the Sunday Times said the alleged assault by Hlophe on a 65-year-old judge was common knowledge. "He [the judge who was allegedly assaulted] walked into [Salie-Hlophe's] chambers and he touched her black belt and said, 'how are you?'

"She alleges that was sexual harassment, so she went and told her husband. He [Hlophe] went in and pushed the guy against a cupboard and the guy's back was injured," the senior judge said.

Acting judges whose appointments deputy judge president Patricia Goliath find questionable

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Most of his colleagues were glad Goliath's affidavit had aired the alleged assault, he said. "You can't carry on like that. You can't do as you please."

The judge who was allegedly assaulted could not be contacted this week, and judge Taswell Papier - named by Goliath as having talked his colleague out of laying a criminal complaint - referred the Sunday Times to the office of chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.

Mogoeng's spokesperson, Nathi Mncube, said Papier denied Goliath's allegation.

Staff at the Cape Town high court were instructed not to discuss Goliath's complaint, which also alleged that Hlophe:

• Stripped her of her duties after accusing her of interfering in his personal life;
• Verbally abused a judge after an incident "of a sexual nature";
• Tried to influence the outcome of a case involving a nuclear deal with Russia by allocating it to judges he perceived to be favourable to former president Jacob Zuma; and
• Allocated the Jason Rohde murder trial to his wife, causing "considerable unhappiness" among senior judges.

The senior judge confirmed that Hlophe had taken over Goliath's duties.

"The big question is: why does he want to run the division alone? He doesn't take leave."

Goliath, 55, said she had nothing to add to her affidavit. "I am just leaving myself in the hands of the JSC and they must decide the way forward."

Hlophe's lawyer, Barnabas Xulu, dismissed Goliath's allegations as gossip. "It is unfortunate that the complaint, rather than raise legitimate issues ... brings disrepute to the court," he said.

Judge president's wife hits back

Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe fired a furious riposte yesterday at Western Cape deputy judge president Patricia Goliath.

In a five-page statement, which she said had been copied to the office of the chief justice, Salie-Hlophe said: "The complaint is simply a bitter spew to oust the judge president [her husband John Hlophe], the ambition to succeed him and to garner herself [Goliath] the entitlement she believes she is rather more suitable for."

Goliath's statements, she said, were "palpably untruthful, at best can be called eloquently stated gossip".

Salie-Hlophe accused Goliath of having an "unhealthy obsession with my marriage" to someone she referred to as "an old black man".

And she said she had nothing to do with appointing or terminating acting judges. "Not a single judge ... was ever proposed by me," she said.