Mkhwebane impeachment wrap: KFC ‘poisoning’, fugitive disinformation campaigns and more

A “poisoned” bodyguard of suspended public protector (PP) advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, later found to have “overindulged” on Kentucky Fried Chicken, dominated proceedings on Wednesday in the parliamentary hearing into her fitness to hold office.

Other topics included unsubstantiated threats to the public protector and how a campaign to undermine judges championed by a fugitive from justice unfolded in Public Protector South Africa (PPSA).

On his second day of giving testimony before the Section 194 inquiry, PPSA senior manager: legal services, Neels van der Merwe, made startling revelations that:

• The 2019 claims contained in an e-mail written by Mkhwebane that one of her protection service officers was poisoned were untrue.
• Paul Ngobeni, one of Mkhwebane’s main legal advisors – investigated by former PP advocate Thuli Madonsela as “a fugitive from justice” – was not registered to practice law in SA.
• Ngobeni, who had Professor Sipho Seepe and radical economic transformation-aligned analyst Kim Heller on his payroll, drove a concerted disinformation campaign that sought to portray Mkhwebane in a positive light, undermining the credibility of some judges.

Asked by committee evidence leader advocate Nazreen Bawa about an e-mail written by Mkhwebane on 15 June, 2019, that there was “proof of threats to arrest for money laundering, threats to poison me and actually my protector has been poisoned [we have proof from the doctors]”, Van der Merwe denied the claims.

ALSO READ: Mkhwebane claimed bodyguard was poisoned, cops say he ate too much KFC

He said the subsequent police investigation found Mkhwebane’s bodyguard was not poisoned, but had overindulged on food – “Kentucky or something like that”.

In the e-mail, Mkhwebane also claimed an investigation conducted by PPSA into the SA Revenue Service rogue unit, led to her car being “tempered (sic) with” and witnesses who feared for their lives, confirming that “two people died mysteriously when they spoke about the rogue unit”.

In an e-mail, Mkhwebane also claimed an investigation conducted by PPSA into the Sars rogue unit, led to her car being ‘tempered (sic) with’.

Fugitive from justice

Branded a fugitive from justice in the state of Connecticut, US, Ngobeni – who was paid several thousand rands in taxpayer money for writing articles attacking Mkhwebane’s opponents, also emerged as one of the PP’s architects in a campaign to fight judges.

Among a series of opinion pieces, parliament heard, Ngobeni attacked high court judge Ronel Tolmay, arguing she was “incompetent and driven by malfeasance” and insisting that her career should end due to her ruling on the Estina Vrede dairy project.

Ngobeni wrote: “Members of the public, including DA [Democratic Alliance] members, have the right to criticise the public protector, but such criticism cannot emanate from retaliatory motives – dislike or discrimination on the basis of her race.

“If the public protector and others, whose independence is constitutionally guaranteed, cannot be threatened with removal based on the merits of their decisions, then it follows that the unprincipled threats of removal against the public protector, must be denounced.”

Mkhwebane responded: “The article is good, can be published.”

Van der Merwe testified Ngobeni’s invoices were channelled through Seanego Attorneys, representing Mkhwebane.

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In connection with appealing another judgment, Theo Seanego wrote in an e-mail to previous senior legal services manager at the PPSA Alfred Mhlongo: “I believe you also mentioned that we need to meet with the EFF’s [Economic Freedom Fighters] attorneys to align our strategies.”

Bawa asked whether it was normal for the office of the PP to align its legal strategies with that of political parties.

Van der Merwe responded: “Not in my short experience in legal services and in terms of our litigation approach. And I would also imagine it might have an impact on our independence and impartiality, to be aligned to a specific party’s legal strategy.”

For their work, Heller and Seepe charged R120 000.