Former judge Nkola Motata wants the Constitutional Court to overturn his impeachment, claiming the National Assembly lacked the jurisdiction to remove him and that he is being subjected to 'double jeopardy'.

Former high court judge Nkola Motata has approached the Constitutional Court to challenge his removal as a judge, which came 17 years after he crashed into a wall while driving drunk.

Now aged 77, Motata retired as a judge in 2017 after a lengthy leave of absence, all the while being paid by the state. He would have continued to receive a salary from the state for the rest of his life if the National Assembly had not impeached him in February 2024.

Now he has approached the Constitutional Court, requesting direct access, to have his status as judge reinstated. Motata wants the National Assembly resolution, which called for his removal as a judge, to be declared invalid and set aside. He also wants the decision to remove him, taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa, to be declared invalid and set aside.

Motata was impeached alongside former Western Cape judge president John Hlophe, who recently entered politics as a member of Parliament for the uMkhonto Wesizwe party.

Ramaphosa and Parliament have indicated that they plan to oppose the application while the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) says it will abide by the court's decision.

Double jeopardy

In an affidavit before the...