Impeached Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has announced she will legally challenge her removal from office, calling it an injustice perpetrated on Steve Biko Day.
This after an overwhelming majority of MPs voted to remove her from office on Monday, owing to a report by the Section 194 inquiry that recommended her removal on grounds of incompetence and misconduct.
In a letter sent to Mkhwebane on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that in terms of Section 194 of the Constitution, when the National Assembly adopted a resolution for the removal of a public protector, the president “must” remove the public protector from office.
“I therefore inform you that you are hereby removed from the office of the public protector in terms of section 194(3)(b) of the Constitution on the grounds of misconduct and incompetence,” read the letter.
Posting the letter on X, Mkhwebane said the decision was an “injustice”.
“DA/ANC MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I wish we could see such ‘concomitant efficiency’ to end load shedding? This injustice, sadly perpetrated on Steve Biko Day, will be legally challenged in review proceedings. The stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone. If I perish, I perish. Ngiyathokoza Mzansi and Africa,” she said.
Director at the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University, Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu, said it was expected that Ramaphosa would agree with the outcome due to the wellknown “difficult relationship” he had with Mkhwebane.
“It is also an outcome that confirmed his long-held view that Mkhwebane is incompetent, acts without reason, and that she conducts herself in an unethical manner when dealing with cases,” he said.
Ndevu said he predicted it would not be plain sailing for Parliament as Mkhwebane geared up to challenge her impeachment.
“We know that the EFF has also indicated that they will take the matter to court, so it is certainly not going to be easy for Parliament, and this is definitely not the end of the road for the public protector. I expect court cases to challenge procedural issues,” he said.
EFF MP Omphile Maotwe labelled the committee’s report as “grossly unfair and a witch hunt” against Mkhwebane.
“We reject the report, and we reject the political witch hunt initiated by the DA and supported by the ANC to punish Advocate Mkhwebane in order to protect Ramaphosa.
“We reiterate our stance that we reserve our right to take this report, and the illegal adoption of this report by Parliament, on judicial review, and we invite all interested parties to join us in doing so,” Maotwe said.
The DA welcomed the Mkhwebane’s removal from office, saying the vote put a close to a “turbulent and regrettable” chapter.
“The DA was vindicated in its opposition to the appointment of Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, whose removal as public protector was voted for by the National Assembly. History will remember how the ANC, EFF and other parties bulldozed through the decision to have an unfit Mkhwebane appointed into a position that she was never suitable for in the first place, despite the DA raising valid concerns about her appointment in 2016.”
United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa said that if Mkhwebane went to court, she would have their support.
African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyo Zungula said the outcome was expected.
“Advocate Mkhwebane is a victim of systematic abuse and corruption by a corrupt ANC government that has no remorse whatsoever, and refuses to atone for the injustices it has inflicted upon the people. Instead, it will reward Advocate (Kholeka) Gcaleka for protecting its president because it knows that it will forever get away with crime, corruption, maladministration, and all such crimes,” he said.
Cape Times