Soundbite by Adv. Glynnis Breytenbach MP.
- The Democratic Alliance urges the Judicial Service commission to urgently attend to complaints of bribery against a Johannesburg High Court Judge.
- The Judge allegedly accepted a R 5 000 bribe to grant leave to appeal against an eviction order.
- The Judiciary is the last line of defence against a complete breakdown in the rule of law, and cannot be allowed to become comprised.
A mafia state is characterised by, among others, a captured judiciary. Judges who take bribes must be dealt with swiftly and punished severely. Failure by the JSC to act decisively with allegations will usher in the collapse of South Africa’s last line of defence. This simply cannot be allowed to happen.
We urge the JSC to treat allegations made by Bouwe Wiersma seriously and launch a full investigation into the allegedly compromised High Court Judge. If the allegations are found to be true, the Judge must be impeached immediately and be subjected to the full might of the law.
The DA is intent on rescuing South Africa from collapse and lawlessness, but this fight cannot be won without a capable judiciary. Judges who take bribes destroy public trust in the rule of law and bring the judiciary into disrepute. The JSC is tasked with protecting the integrity of the judiciary, and must ensure that this matter and others like it are investigated thoroughly and without delay.
We cannot stand by while criminal elements in our society destroy our country and its most respected institutions. South Africa’s future is under attack, and the DA will use all tools available to defend the nation.
We have full confidence in the JSC to do its job and protect the rule of law and the integrity of the judiciary. These claims are not trivial, and every day that they are not dealt with, we move one step closer to collapse into a mafia state. We encourage all South Africans to stand up and demand that our country is freed from the clutches of the underworld.
Our judiciary is not for sale, and any judge bringing it into disrepute must face the consequences.