The Judicial Service Commission's complaints committee will meet on Saturday to discuss whether it should hold a full inquiry into the misconduct allegations against Cape Judge President John Hlophe, a spokesperson said.

Advocate Marumo Moerane said: "We will discuss all the evidence from day one —the complaint, the response, the evidence led on 7/8 April and the interviews held on 30 July."

The committee has set aside the whole of Saturday for its private meeting in Johannesburg to decide how to proceed with the matter, Moerane said.

In May last year, two Constitutional Court judges complained to the JSC that Hlophe had made inappropriate approaches to them regarding pending judgments in President Jacob Zuma's now abandoned corruption trial.

Hlophe in turn lodged a counter-complaint against the judges for going public with their complaint before he had had a chance to answer to it.

In April, the JSC took evidence over two days from some of the judges.

Hlophe was absent because he was ill and went to court, eventually forcing the JSC to start the proceedings anew.

In July, in a suprise move, the JSC appointed a three-man subcommittee to hear evidence and then advise the complaints committee whether there was a need for a full inquiry.

At that meeting, Hlophe denied that he had tried to influence the Zuma judgment, and said he believed the complaint against him was politically motivated.

The JSC has also received further submissions in the meanwhile, Moerane said.

He said the committee must now mull whether there was grounds for a misconduct complaint, in which case it would hold a full inquiry into the matter.

This would have to be held publicly, in line with a court order media houses recently obtained from the High Court in Johannesburg. Moerane said it was hard to tell if a final decision would be made on Saturday, but once they had, they would let the public know.

Hlophe's supporters have launched an unprecedented campaign to have him become chief justice, Zuma nominated Judge Sandile Ngcobo to the position.

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