The SA Human Rights Commission has refused to apologise to the Director-General from the Gauteng Premier’s Office, Phindile Baleni, as the commission continues with the Alexandra Enquiry.
The probe is taking place in collaboration with the public protector’s office.
Baleni claims that remarks by commission chair in Gauteng, Buang Jones, that she would be subpoenaed for failing to appear before it were defamatory and infringed on her dignity.
Baleni has been a no-show at the commission from mid-April. At the commission her lawyer, William Mokhari, argued for an apology, however Jones refused.
“To threaten a person with a subpoena and to even to say then that the person has disobeyed your order if such a statement appears not to be correct then one will accept that it is defamatory in a sense that it will impune her integrity,” says Mokhari.
“The statements that I made as the chairperson of this enquiry were to the effect that we will motivate for the subpoena of the DG. We never said we will subpoena the DG,” says Jones.
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