There are two ways that former judge president John Hlophe has been harmed by Western Cape High Court Judge Mushtak Parker, who has earned approximately R8 million while on suspension since 2020. First, against a bookcase in his chambers after Hlophe allegedly pushed him violently, and second, in denying the event occurred. At a conduct tribunal of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Parker is the subject of two complaints.

The most egregious is that he lied under oath while deposing a sworn affidavit to a fellow judge that he had been physically assaulted by Hlophe in his chambers and had fallen against a cabinet, snapping off a key and injuring himself. On February 25, 2019, Parker verbally informed other coworkers of the assault, but a year later, he said that he had "misinterpreted" what had happened between himself and Hlophe. The bully is Hlophe. The tribunal heard on Monday, February 24, 2025, how Hlophe had bullied Parker following the incident and had "suggested" that he stop taking any criminal action related to the assault.

The assault occurred in Parker’s chambers on 25 February 2019 after a perceived slight by the pugnacious judge president’s (JP) then-wife, Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, whose robe Parker had tugged to attract her attention in the tea room. Parker, an elderly man, had been profoundly traumatized by the attack, according to Judge Mark Sher to the tribunal. During the assault, Hlophe had used a lot of force and insulted Parker, calling him a "racist." “Judge Parker said he was sitting behind his desk when the JP entered his office. Sher told the tribunal that when he stood up, the JP attacked him and pushed him into a cabinet. There, he hit his back on the key and broke it before falling to the ground.

Since being impeached, Hlophe has been the deputy president and leader of Jacob Zuma's fledgling uMkhonto WeSizwe party, where he occasionally donned combat fatigues in place of his red robe. The photographs don’t lie After Hlophe had allegedly got to him, Parker went as far as accusing another colleague who spoke out, Judge Judith Cloete, to whom he had initially unburdened himself, of being part of a group of people who now sought to “discredit” himself “and the JP She stated that the contents of Parker's letter to her accusing her of this had made her "saddened." The tribunal has been provided with photographic evidence of the broken key to the cabinet stacked with law publications in Parker’s chambers and taken by Judge Eduard Wille with his cellphone.

Wille stated on Monday that he was not one of the 12 judges who had written to the JSC to express their inability to serve alongside Parker, who was facing serious allegations of misconduct, on the bench. He had preferred to do a “Switzerland” on the matter and remain neutral. John Hlophe, as Western Cape JP, had bullied his way through the division, causing endless drama and damage before his removal. The Parker incident was a daily dose of “fear and loathing” in the corridors and offices of the courts. Wille recalled how “after tea” on the day of the assault, Parker had visited his chambers as these were close by since Parker had moved out of his office after a mysterious fire.

Without going into the sordid details and foul language (contained in a heap of affidavits), Wille explained that he had taken down Parker’s statement on his computer and had also photographed the broken key. He informed the tribunal that there were two signed versions of the Parker affidavit. At the time, he had also discussed the matter with a colleague, Francois van Zyl, as he had sought advice. “Life works in mysterious ways,” he said on Monday. He had discovered another photograph he had taken, this one of the signed Parker affidavit, of which he had kept one copy, while upgrading his mobile phone over the weekend "due to load shedding." He stated, "I had not realised that I had taken a photograph of the log I had made to Van Zyl and the signed affidavit made before a commissioner of oaths and that Parker had given to me."

Parker's affidavit was the log that he had made to Van Zyl. Second complaint The Cape Bar Council has filed a second complaint against Parker for misconduct, claiming that he did not disclose relevant information when he applied to be a judge. This was that that his former law firm had been accused by the Legal Practice Council of misusing R8-million of a client’s money by running a deficit in the trust account. On Monday, his coworker Sher said that Parker had talked to him multiple times about the Hlophe assault. He had experienced it as “humiliating”, had received psychological counselling and medical treatment for the injury to his back.