At this point the less Grubstreet says about Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, the better.  I’m talking to my lawyer about how best to avoid a defamation suit and she’s advised that if its not possible to be an independent,  critically minded journalist without also being defamatory, then: “Just lay off, already”.

For a sober judge, Hlophe sure is a riot.  There’s never a dull moment and he’s the guy I want at my party.

So pass the canapes and here’s the latest:

Business Day has got hold of a letter Hlophe has sent to Chief Justice Pius Langa blaming the  Mail & Guardian for the “malicious and despicable” act of making a story up.  In the story, Hlophe was quoted as saying he had refused to shake Langa’s hand after a Judicial Service Commission interview two weeks ago because “I’m not going to shake a white man’s hand”.

Read the Business Day story here and here’s the letter. While we’re at it, I’d like to point out to the Biz Day tecchies that it’s quite possible to insert a link into a story. Just hit the “insert a link” button rather than making the user copy and paste the url into their browsers.

The M&G is sticking to its story and here’s the original article on Hlophe by Sello S Alcock. You malicious and despicable people, you, who also happen to have a reputation for fearless and accurate reporting.  You’re invited to my party too and the white guy who runs the paper — I’ll even shake your hand.

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