BOFEPUSU warns Kgathi

Recently, Justice Abednego Tafa invalidated the appointments of some CoA judges. Last week, Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Kgathi, gazetted the CoA Amendment Bill whose object is to comply with the High Court decision. The Bill proposes that Section 4 of the Court of Appeal (CoA) Act prescribe the number of Justices of Appeal to be 12.

Further, he proposes that the tenure of office of a Judge of the CoA be increased from 70 years to 80 years.  The labour federation says Kgathi’s legislation is intended to have dual impact. “Firstly, to have Parliament prescribe the number of Judges. Secondly, in order to circumvent the difficulty of the constitutional invalidity of renewing Judges’ contracts, to increase the age of entire net of Judges from 70 years to 80 years, and apply retrospectively to 1980,” says BOFEPUSU deputy secretary general Ketlhalefile Motshegwa.