Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has argued in court that President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended her on the 9th of June out of what she claims was “revenge”.
That’s according to her lawyer, Advocate Dali Mpofu, who is arguing in a case at the High Court in Cape Town challenging her suspension.
Mkhwebane says the President knew that her challenge to the impeachment hearings was imminent when he suspended her.
Mpofu says it was only after he was sent questions on the Phala Phala farm matter that President Ramaphosa suspended Mkhwebane. He also also says her suspension is unconstitutional because it happened before the process to remove her started in Parliament.
Mpofu has sought to convince the court that because the current Section 194 committee is not a removal committee, as contemplated in the constitution, its existence cannot be used to trigger her suspension by the President.
He says the constitution provides for possible suspension only after the commencement of the removal committee.
He adds that even if the committee was the removal committee, the suspension is unconstitutional because there is no clarity on when its proceedings started as different dates have been given as commencement dates.
In the video below, proceedings in Mkhwebane’s appeal against her suspension:
