The African National Congress ruling party has welcomed the resolution of a race row that erupted in the Cape High Court in the past two weeks.
In a statement on Thursday, parliamentary caucus spokesperson Mpho Lekgoro said the caucus had confidence in the judiciary’s ability to deal with the matter competently.
This follows a statement on Wednesday by Chief Justice Pius Langa that a probe into racism would not be carried out, as no official complaint had been laid.
The row — which has dominated Cape Town newspapers in the past two weeks — was sparked by Cape Judge President John Hlophe’s alleged racist remark about an attorney, Joshua Greeff.
Greeff was reported also to have questioned the way Hlophe’s appointee Justice Tandazwa Ndita presided over one of his murder cases.
It was reported that neither party wished to take action against each other.
Langa was reported as saying that the ceasefire action had been taken “in the greater good of the public” and in a way to stabilise relationships in the legal fraternity.
Lekgoro said: “The ability to seek mutual solutions to challenging and complex matters through peaceful engagement indeed demonstrates maturity and eagerness to advance the aspirations of our young democracy.
“Mindful of the legacy of racism in our country and the imperatives of transformation, this agreement should propel us to accelerate necessary change in all spheres of society.
“We have observed comments by some on the matter, which sought to pre-empt fair solution to this matter by resorting to personal attacks on some individuals involved.” — I-Net Bridge