Mkhwebane: SA in deep trouble if Ramaphosa doesn't account for Phala Phala
Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says a failure to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable for the Phala Phala scandal would leave South Africa in “deep trouble”.
She spoke to the media at a National Press Club event in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Mkhwebane addressed several issues, including the parliamentary inquiry into her fitness to hold office and the recent Constitutional Court judgment on her suspension.
Earlier this month, acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka absolved the president of any wrongdoing in the robbery and theft of thousands of US dollars at his game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
Mkhwebane said ordinary South Africans need to decide for themselves if there was a conflict of interest between Ramaphosa’s official duties and his private interests.
"Given what we now know about what the President, on his own admission, did or knew about the hidden dollars at his Phala Phala farm and how he reacted to the 31 questions (sent to him by Mkhwebane) can it be said that in both situations there was not even a single risk of conflict of interest between his official responsibilities and his private interest?
"That is the only question every citizen has to ask themselves and provide an honest answer. If the answer you came to is that there was no risk of conflict of interest then we must celebrate our constitutional democracy and the protection it provides.
"But if your answer is that there is such a risk in respect of either the suspension of public protector, the failure to report the theft, the following of the money in Namibia or the alleged torture of those involved, then we must now know that we are in deep trouble than any other stage of our history. Not even an absolute monarch can be so immune from the law to the extent of our degeneration," she said
Mkhwebane believes her suspension by Ramaphosa was meant to silence her after she began a probe into Phala Phala matter.
"I think the judgment should now be taken to law students to learn about this because this is a case study on justice delayed is justice denied. The purpose has been served; it means I was taken out of the office so that the Phala Phala investigation can be done," she added.
Mkhwebane's non-renewable seven-year term of office ends on 14 October.
ALSO READ:
