Seriti and Musi’s challenge to JSC act dismissed
Ernsie Ferreira| Mail & Guardian
The Johannesburg high court on Friday dismissed a constitutional challenge to the Judicial Service Commission Act by retired judges Willie Seriti and Hendrick Musi, who presided over the arms deal inquiry.
Seriti and Musi launched the legal challenge to section 7(1)(g) of the act after the commission initiated a misconduct investigation into their handling of the inquiry into corruption in South Africa’s arms acquisition programme.
The commission did so in response to a complaint lodged by non-profit organisations Open Secrets and Shadow World Investigations, which accused Seriti and Musi of failing to adequately investigate the multibillion-rand arms deal.
The complainants ventured that the judges’ actions could amount to criminal conduct, contending that the commission’s final report “materially misled the public”, helping to cover up alleged corruption related to the arms deal.