Hlophe has been elected on to the Judicial Service Commission - the same body that found him guilty of gross misconduct.

John Hlophe, one of only two judges ever stripped of their positions in the democratic South Africa, will now take a seat on the primary body responsible for serving as a watchdog for judges.

This was confirmed on Tuesday, when a motion was carried in the newly constituted National Assembly that Hlophe would be the designated representative for the MK party on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

In one of the first tests of Government of National Unity (GNU) solidarity in the legislature, the ANC, DA and other GNU parties seemed unable to find each other on the matter in advance and backed different positions - with the ANC siding with MK and the EFF that the election of Hlophe to the JSC was permissible.

DA: Neither reasonable or rational to vote in Hlophe

It is customary for the nomination and election of MPs to bodies like the JSC to go ahead smoothly, since the issue is generally taken to be the prerogative of the nominating party.

DA chief whip George Michalakis acknowledged that this was the case, and said that the DA expected "to receive a lot of criticism" for opposing Hlophe's nomination.

Michalakis argued, however, that it was...