An authoritarian who is inflexible and wants to be bowed to like a Madam, that’s how former Chief operating officer (COO) in the Office of the Public Protector, Basani Baloyi has described suspended Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
Baloyi served as a COO for eight months in 2019 until she was immediately dismissed for poor performance, an accusation she vehemently denies.
Baloyi took the stand on Monday to testify on allegations that there was intimidation, harassment and victimisation of workers.
However, shortly before she testified, Mkhwebane’s legal counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu objected to her testimony as irrelevant to the work of the Parliamentary impeachment inquiry against Mkhwebane.
Mpofu argued that her testimony would be a waste of money and time and would set a bad precedent for future impeachment processes.
The inquiry chairperson however ruled Baloyi should continue to testify.
Baloyi says before her dismissal in October 2019, she had never undertaken an appraisal for her six-month probation period.
She claims she picked up trouble when she started butting heads with then CEO Vussy Mahlangu, sometimes on the instruction of the suspended Public Protector.
Baloyi has also testified that she believed there were political games at play in the South African Revenue Service (SARS) rogue unit and CR17 reports.
She states that she received a WhatsApp message from Mkhwebane informing her that Mkhwebane was working with people to deal with sabotage in the Pravin Gordhan camp.
Baloyi says the message ended with: “It is not about you but one has to play Chess.”
“You describe the leadership style for the public protector as authoritarian and you needed to bow down and was inflexible. Is that not an exaggeration that she must be bowed down like a madam?” asks Adv. Ncumisa Mayosi.
“When Public Protector walks from her office to the boardroom you had to rise up and not even ministers of the executive authority get that treatment,” explains Baloyi.
