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Judge Makhubele asks court to halt her impeachment process

Published

Gauteng High Court judge Nana Makhubele wants the Pretoria high court to stop parliament from considering her impeachment until her review of the Judicial Service Commission's gross misconduct finding ends. She says the bid is not an attempt to block accountability.

Makhubele says the application protects her judge title while the litigation continues. She argues that if parliament passes an impeachment vote, the constitution leaves President Cyril Ramaphosa no choice but to remove her title. In a replying affidavit filed this month, she said: "I deny that an application for interim protection is necessarily inconsistent with the National Assembly’s duties or judicial accountability."

Unite Behind opposes the application. The group says it poses serious harm to the National Assembly's constitutional mandate to consider impeachment recommendations. It also says she can seek legal relief after the parliamentary process, and that parliament's decision would collapse if the review court found in her favour.

Unite Behind also says her conduct undermined the independence of the judiciary and breached the separation of powers. Makhubele argues she was not a judge when she accepted the Prasa interim board position at the end of October 2017. The National Assembly and the portfolio committee on justice and constitutional development have not opposed the application.

Key facts

Who
Nana Makhubele (Gauteng High Court judge seeking interim protection from the impeachment process); Xola Nqola (chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on justice and…); Unite Behind (civil society group opposing the application); Cyril Ramaphosa (President)
What
Makhubele, who is under impeachment recommendation after a Judicial Service Commission gross misconduct finding, says her application for interim protection in the Pretoria high court is a measure to keep her judge title during litigation, not a bid to block judicial accountability. Unite Behind opposes the application; the National Assembly and the portfolio committee have not opposed it.
When
28 October 2026
Where
Pretoria, Gauteng
Status
Reported

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