The National Assembly Rules Committee will decide what the next steps are regarding the Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s impeachment process.
Assembly Secretary Masibulele Xaso says that is according to the legal advice they have received.
The process was thrown into disarray after the Western Cape High Court found two provisions of the rules needed to be amended.
The first step is to remove the requirement for a judge to form part of the panel of experts that advices the Speaker on whether there is prima facie evidence for a parliamentary investigation.
The second is that the rules should allow legal representatives to participate in the Section 194 committee that investigates the suitability of a head of chapter nine institution to hold office.
The rules committee will meet next week to decide on the way forward.
A report into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office expected to be finalised in 2021:
In July, National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise said she will soon seek legal advice on how to proceed with the investigation into Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwabane’s fitness to hold office.
This after the Western Cape High Court found that the appointment of a judge to the advisory panel of the Section 194 Committee which is dealing with the investigation was against the principle of separation of powers and some of the clauses of the new impeachment rules were unconstitutional.
It also said the rules should be amended to allow legal representatives to participate in the proceedings of the committee. However, the court dismissed Mkhwebane’s application to declare parliamentary rules on the removal of heads of chapter nine institutions unconstitutional.
Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said, “Parliament is currently consulting its legal team who are still studying the judgment fully and will make a determination on the implication of this judgment on the independence and the manner in which it determines its internal processes. So the manner in which the Section 194 committee will proceed will be based on this legal advice.”
