Cape Town - The inquiry into Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office could be in jeopardy after she terminated instructions to her lawyers following the Public Protector South Africa’s (PPSA) decision to stop paying her legal costs this month.
The turn of events was a sequel to a letter acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka wrote. In the letter it was confirmed that PPSA was unable to commit any further funding towards Mkhwebane’s legal costs for the inquiry beyond March 1.
Gcaleka said the expenditure for legal services for the institution in 2022-23 already exceeded the allocated budget by R12 024 178 as at February.
Mkhwebane’s legal costs billed for the legal challenges involved in the inquiry exceeded R6.1m.
“The processing of the latest batch of invoices, which still excludes the legal fees for March 2023, is likely to increase the amount of the variance with which the legal services budget would be exceeded during the current financial year, to an amount in excess of R21 937 226.54,” Gcaleka said.
She added that the R20m transferred by the Department of Justice and Correctional Services for the current financial year ending in March was unlikely to avoid an over-expenditure on its legal services budget.
On Friday, Mkhwebane’s legal counsel Advocate Dali Mpofu SC informed the inquiry that the sixth day of her testimony marked the end of the road for her legal team.
“She is not able to give us further instruction beyond this point and therefore our instructions are terminated,” Mpofu said.
Mkhwebane said she had mentioned several times since the beginning of the hearings that she was participating under protest. She blamed Gcaleka for withdrawing her legal funding and questioned her mandate.
“Now I don’t know what else to do. I don’t have resources,” she said.
She also said the inquiry could not proceed until her legal representation was resolved.
“I don’t have resources with courts clobbering me with personal orders and to think I must pay. I never bring myself here,” she said.
Committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi said the funding of the Public Protector had been identified in one of their meetings as a risk facing the inquiry.
Dyantyi said Mkhwebane would continue giving her testimony this week and the evidence leaders and the MPs ask her questions the following week. He said the proceedings will resume on Monday to conclude the evidence that was being led. Thereafter, the inquiry’s legal team and MPs will have a chance to ask her question, he said.
Cape Times