Section 194 inquiry a ‘ politically motivated witch-hunt’ - Mkhwebane
Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane believes the section 194 parliamentary committee into her fitness to hold office has nothing to do with the Constitution but is a politically motivated witch-hunt to remove her from office.
Mkhwebane took the stand at the section 194 inquiry on Wednesday, criticising the process to remove her from the Chapter 9 institution.
She was appointed by former president Jacob Zuma in 2016 at the end of former public protector Thuli Madonsela's term.
Mkhwebane says the enquiry has nothing to do with the constitution, but a special project that was established against her for Investigating "untouchables."
"This whole process is a vanity "special project" of the Democratic Alliance aimed at scoring political points as the first party to have ever caused a head of the chapter nine institution to face impeachment proceedings,” she said.
“This process has nothing to do with accountability. It has nothing to do with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa or the Rule of law. This process is as far removed from the Constitution as the South is from the North.”
She went on: “It is a politically motivated witch-hunt masquerading as a bona fide enquiry under the auspices of section 194 of the Constitution. It is not. It is a racially motivated campaign born out of the fear of real change which might actually benefit the poorest and most marginalised members of the public, who are in the main black, at the expense of those who benefit the most from an untransformed economic status quo, who are in the main white and the backbone constituency of the DA."
Mkhwebane believes that even her suspension by President Cyril Ramaphosa was meant to remove her from investigating the Phala Phala saga.
"Neither is my current suspension a bona fide exercise,” she said.
“The suspension is a vengeful, retaliatory and illegal act by the current president for no other reason than the multiple investigations I was seized with before and at the time of the suspension, principally the abovementioned CR17/BOSASA matter and the Phala Phala scandal, to mention a few," says Mkhwebane.
She added: "It is these factors which have led to the formation of the unholy alliance between the DA and the ANC to advance their common objective of removing me from office by hook or by crook and, if the courts are to be believed, mostly by crook."
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