The Free State Representative of the Office of the Public Protector has called on Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to resign.
In a letter addressed to Mkhwebane, Sphelo Samuel says the Public Protector has tarnished the image of the office.
On Tuesday the High Court in Pretoria set aside and declared unlawful, Mkhwebane’s report on funding to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2017 ANC Presidential campaign.
The case was brought by Ramaphosa, for a judicial review.
In the video below, a High Court judge says Busisiwe Mkhwebane acted unlawfully in exercising her powers in the manner that she did:
Samuel’s letter to Mkhwebane follows his request to the Speaker of Parliament last month requesting that Mkhwebane be investigated.
He says: “The waste of taxpayers money, depleting the budget of the office, perusing litigation that does not help the office at all. When Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane took over she started a program of instilling fear, isolating people from communicating with each other and intimidation. She introduced measures of suspending people willy nilly just to instill fear.”
The office of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has described Tuesday’s ruling as disappointing.
Public Protector’s Spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, says Mkhwebane will study the ruling before deciding whether to appeal it.
He says: “It is a disappointing judgment and she respects the judiciary as well as their authority to make this kind of rulings.”
“Respecting a ruling does not mean you must agree with it. You can hold a different view and have all the other avenues to explore. But I am not saying she is going to appeal because she hasn’t taken that decision yet. That can only be taken after a thorough study of the judgment.”
‘It is very unfair and it is very disheartening’
Meanwhile, EFF spokesperson Delisile Ngwenya says Ramaphosa failed in his constitutional duty to declare the funding.
Ngwenya says, “It is very unfair and it is very disheartening to see the Gauteng North High Court absolved Ramaphosa on a case like this. Ramaphosa is a member of Parliament who has taken an oath that he will declare every gift in the form of money or anything that comes to him for his personal gain.”
“For the court to say that the money that was given to Ramaphosa for his CR17 campaign did not benefit him in his personal capacity it is not true, it is misleading the country,” says Ngwenya.
In the video below, analysts discuss how Ramaphosa vs Mkhwebane may be used in factional battles:
