Mkhwebane should know better - Cele
Police Minister Bheki Cele says he feels vindicated by a ruling in the High Court in Pretoria against Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
The court ruled against Mkhwebane's findings which forced the police to provide protection for whistle-blowers who had survived an assassination attempt for exposing alleged corruption.
In her report Mkhwebane said the failure by the police minister and the police to provide personal protection exposed them to assassination attempts.
The informants, Thabiso Zulu and Lesley Stuta, were witnesses in Mkhwebane’s investigation into alleged multi-million rand corruption in the UMzimkhulu local municipality.
Cele’s spokesperson Lirandzu Themba says Mkhwebane accused the minister of gross negligence, improper conduct and maladministration.
"The report claimed there had been ‘undue delay’ on the part of Cele and the police, in providing personal protection to the two men who were living in fear for their lives.
"The public protector even went as far as ordering the President [Cyril Ramaphosa] to ‘reprimand’ Minister Cele, for what she termed a ‘lapse in judgement'," says Themba.
Cele has urged Mkhwebane to take reasonable steps in her findings, especially about structures of government.
“It has always been clear that while protection of witnesses is paramount, it remains the sole responsibility of the National Prosecution Authority as stated in the Witness Protection Act. The Public Protector should have known this," the minister said in a statement.