1.1 The Select Committee noted from the report tabled by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development that the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, on 23 November 2005, provisionally suspended Mr M S Makamu, a Senior Magistrate at Benoni, from office. It was done in terms of section 13(3)(a) of the Magistrates Act, 1993, (Act No 90 of 1993) on the advice of the Magistrates Commission. A report to this effect was subsequently tabled in Parliament in terms of section 13(3)(b) of the Act. The National Assembly, on 21 June 2006, and the National Council of Provinces, shortly thereafter, confirmed Mr Makamu's provisional suspension. Mr Makamu's provisional suspension was based on the following: