Western Cape High Court Judge Mushtak Parker has been found guilty of gross misconduct and dishonesty by a Judicial Conduct Tribunal, which may lead to his impeachment.
Judicial tribunal finds Judge Mushtak Parker guilty of misconduct
The tribunal, led by retired Gauteng Judge President Bernard Ngoepe, said Parker’s actions damaged the integrity and reputation of the judiciary.
The first charge against Parker stems from a 2019 incident involving former Judge President John Hlophe. Parker initially claimed Hlophe had physically assaulted him by pushing him against a bookcase, causing a back injury.
Several judges testified that Parker shared this account with them and even had help from Judge Derek Wille in writing an affidavit.
However, Parker later withdrew his complaint, saying he had misunderstood the incident. The tribunal said this created two conflicting versions of events.
“One of them had to be a lie,” Ngoepe wrote.
The tribunal concluded that Parker either misled other judges or dishonourably retracted a true claim to protect Hlophe.
The second charge relates to Parker’s failure to disclose financial misconduct at his former law firm, Parker and Khan Inc. Evidence showed the firm had a trust fund shortfall of up to R7 million.
Parker, who was managing partner, did not inform the Legal Practice Council of the deficit and also failed to mention it when applying for a permanent judgeship in 2017.
The tribunal found that Parker knew about the trust deficit and had participated in the misuse of client funds.
The Legal Practice Council only discovered the issue after receiving an anonymous tip-off, not through voluntary disclosure by Parker or his colleagues.
Judge Parker did not respond to any of the evidence during the tribunal’s proceedings.
His lawyer, William King, said Parker would not contest the facts or testify. This allowed the tribunal to accept the charges as uncontested.
Will he be impeached?
Now that the tribunal has made its findings, the matter is in the hands of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The JSC must decide whether to confirm the tribunal’s ruling and, if confirmed, what the appropriate punishment should be.
One possible outcome is impeachment, which means Parker could be formally removed from office.
The JSC may also consider any mitigating arguments Parker might present before making its decision.