Mkhwebane says suspension over, vows to return to office
In a letter written to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkwebane stated that she would be returning to office on Tuesday.
The move comes after the parliamentary inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office found her guilty on charges of misconduct and incompetence, paving the way for an impeachment vote in the National Assembly.
The final report by the Section 194 committee made serious adverse findings of misconduct against Mkhwebane across a range of investigations, reports, and her handling of subsequent litigation, as well as matters related to the expenditure of public funds.
The committee, chaired by ANC MP Richard Dtyantyi, said Mkhwebane had not provided written comment on the committee’s draft report, which was sent to her on 11 August with an opportunity to provide written responses by 21 August.
Committee members from the ANC, DA, ACDP, Freedom Front Plus and IFP all voted in favour of the adoption of the final report.
The EFF and the ATM voted against the adoption of the report, saying they would take the report on review, while Al Jama-ah felt the penalty of removal was too harsh.
In her letter Mkhwebane stated that she will remain in office until the end of her term in October.
"The purpose of this letter is to inform you as the suspending authority in terms of the Constitution, and as a matter of courtesy and protocol, that I will accordingly be returning to my office on 5 September 2023 until the expiry of my term on 14 October 2023 or any lawful removal in terms of section 194 of the Constitution, whichever happens first.
"In any event and as you may be aware l hold the firm view that the clearly rushed effort to remove me from office in spite of the fact that I will be left with less than 20 working days before the expiry of my term on 13 October 2023 is clearly driven by illegal, improper and motives of a political and personal nature other than any legitimate desire for accountability.
"This situation is further exacerbated by the inexplicable denial of my legal representation before the committee which was more recently followed by last week’s premature termination of my attorneys’ mandate by PPSA despite the fact that I still hold the office of Public Protector."
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