Cape Town – Public Protector advocate, Busisiwe Mkhwebane remains suspended despite a Western Cape High Court ruling on Friday that President Cyril Ramaphosa acted “improperly” against the Mkhwebane.
The court said the “hurried nature” of the suspension of Busisiwe Mkhwebane suggested it “may have been retaliatory” and thus unlawful.
Mkhwebane was suspended in June shortly after she sent the president questions over the alleged Phala Phala farm robbery.
Mkhwebane was, however, denied access to her office over the weekend, reported TimesLIVE.
The report said acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka informed Mkhwebane in a letter dated September 9, that her suspension remained effective as an appeal to the Constitutional Court suspended the high court order.
“Your earlier WhatsApp communication to arrange for access to the premises of the Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) has reference. Accordingly, the advice received is the high court order is not presently operative and your suspension from the position of public protector remains effective,” the report quoted Gcaleka as saying in the letter.
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Although the High Court ruling was in Mkhwebane’s favour, the judgment stated that the ruling should be confirmed by the Constitutional Court, reported IOL.
The report said justices Lister Nuku, Matthew Francis and Dumisani Lebuleni’s judgment acknowledged that Mkhwebane’s suspension was “long in the making”.
“However, at the time the suspension was finalised, the president was dealing with an investigation by the applicant, the substance of the allegations of which he could not discuss as he had done with the other investigations, and this, in our view, is the critical time to assess whether it was still tenable for the president to exercise the suspension powers. From the objective facts, the decision of the applicant to investigate the president and put 31 questions to him, prompted the president not to wait a day and to immediately suspend her.
“Clearly, when the events that unfolded between June 7 and 10 are objectively examined, it is irresistible to conclude that the decision of the president was improper,” the report quoted the Full Bench.
Meanwhile, Parliament’s inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office heard allegations of victimisation and toxic working environment over the weekend, reported EWN.
Last week it heard that evidence of over R146 million in legal costs had been spent by the office since Mkhwebane took office in 2016, the report said.
According to Nthoriseng Motsitsi, Public Protector executive manager for complaints and stakeholder management, they were often victimised as officials, the report said.
“So the issue of victimisation and harassment, I felt victim in many areas,” the report quoted Motsitsi as saying.
The Section 194 inquiry into Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office was expected to meet again on Wednesday to review the evidence presented so far, the report said.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
