Karyn Maughan | How Hlophe and Motata's false racism claims helped them evade accountability

John Hlophe and Nkola Motata have been stripped of their judicial titles and salaries for life after committing acts of gross misconduct. But, Karyn Maughan writes, the fact that it took 16 years for it to happen shows just how effective their false "race card" defences were.

Almost immediately after the Constitutional Court accused John Hlophe of trying to influence two of its justices to rule in favour of then ANC president Jacob Zuma, the Western Cape Judge President hit back with a counter-complaint – and alleged that the apex court, and its then Chief Justice Pius Langa and his deputy, Dikgang Moseneke, were part of a racist plot against him.

When Judge Nkola Motata went on trial for drunkenly crashing his car into a wall in 2007, he not only repeatedly and dishonestly claimed that he was not drunk, but he also falsely accused the man who recorded his inebriated conduct after the crash, Richard Baird, of calling him the k-word.