Free State Public Protector Provincial Representative Sphelo Samuel says he will meet with his lawyers to challenge his suspension.
He was placed on precautionary suspension with immediate effect on Wednesday following a letter he wrote to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, asking her to resign.
His letter came after a Pretoria High Court decision to set aside and declare unlawful Mkhwebane’s report on funding to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2017 ANC presidential campaign.
Samuel says: “She decided to suspend me following the judgment in the North Gauteng High Court challenge by the State President against her report.”
“I wrote her a letter requesting her in light of that finding and many others in the past that she should resign because she continues to litigate recklessly and undermining the integrity and prestige of the office.”
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.
“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,” Segalwe further explained.
