Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane will oppose the applications by the National Assembly Speaker and the Democratic Alliance for direct access to appeal a High Court ruling.
The Court ordered the National Assembly to amend the rules to make provision for full legal representation for heads of Chapter 9 institutions during an inquiry into their fitness to hold office.
The High Court was also against the inclusion of a judge to sit on a three-member panel during preliminary investigations into the fitness of a Head of Chapter 9 Institution.
In her responding affidavit, Mkhwebane says the Speaker and the DA raise overlapping legal issues and no factual disputes in their separate applications.
Her affidavit further states that the DA brought various motions for her removal from office when it realised that its spy allegations against her failed to materialise.
She says the former Speaker Thandi Modise failed in her constitutional duties to be impartial when she accepted the DA motions when the rules for the removal of the head of a Chapter 9 institution were not in place.
However, current Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has defended her predecessor’s decision to approve the DA motion to investigate Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.
The Speaker’s appeal and the DA’s counter appeal against the High Court judgment are expected to be thrashed out in the Constitutional Court on Monday.
In the video below, Legal expert Adv Modidima Mannya speaks ahead of court hearing:
