John Hlophe

The Honourable John Hlophe MP
21st Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 June 2024
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Preceded by	John Steenhuisen
Deputy President of uMkhonto weSizwe[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 August 2024
President	Jacob Zuma
Preceded by	Position established
Judge President of the Western Cape High Court
In office 1 May 2000 – 1 March 2024
Appointed by	Thabo Mbeki
Deputy	Jeanette Traverso Patricia Goliath
Preceded by	Edwin King
Deputy Judge President of the Western Cape High Court
In office 18 May 1999 – 30 April 2000
Appointed by	Nelson Mandela
Preceded by	Edwin King
Succeeded by	Jeanette Traverso
Judge of the High Court
In office 1 January 1995 – 1 March 2024
Appointed by	Nelson Mandela
Division	Western Cape
Personal details
Born	Mandlakayise John Hlophe (1959-05-19) 19 May 1959 (age 65) Stanger, Natal, South Africa
Political party	uMkhonto weSizwe
Spouse	Gayaat Salie-Hlophe ​ ​ (m. 2015; div. 2022)​
Education	Ohlange High School
Alma mater	University of Natal University of Fort Hare University of Cambridge (LLM, PhD)

Mandlakayise John Hlophe (born 19 May 1959) is a South African jurist and politician, currently serving as the Deputy President of uMkhonto weSizwe and the Leader of the Opposition of South Africa.^[1] He was the Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa from May 2000 until March 2024, when he was impeached. He was the first South African judge to be impeached under the post-apartheid Constitution.

Born in Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal, Hlophe began his career as a successful legal academic with a specialty in administrative law. He taught at the University of Natal from 1988 to 1990 and at the University of Transkei from 1990 to 1994. After joining the Cape High Court bench in January 1995, he rose quickly through the judicial ranks, becoming Deputy Judge President in May 1999 and Judge President in 2000. He was shortlisted for elevation to the Constitutional Court in 2009.

Known as a vocal proponent of demographic transformation in the South African judiciary, he was a divisive figure in Western Cape legal society. In 2005, he accused various colleagues of racism in a report that was leaked to the press and widely circulated. While his supporters heralded him as a future Chief Justice, he became increasingly embroiled in controversy, and he was the subject of numerous complaints to the Judicial Service Commission, including one from the Cape Bar Council, one from Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath, and one from the judges of the Constitutional Court.

In the latter regard, in 2008, two judges of the Constitutional Court accused Hlophe of having attempted improperly to influence their judgment in matters involving President Jacob Zuma. After a prolonged legal battle, the Judicial Service Commission found him guilty of gross misconduct in August 2021, and the National Assembly of South Africa resolved to impeach him on 21 February 2024.