I vow to fight dark forces to the bitter end – Mkhwebane

Against a background of her legal representation interrupted during the Section 194 inquiry proceedings due to lack of funding, suspended public protector (PP) advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane yesterday suffered yet another legal blow.

This after the state attorney informed her new lawyers about an instruction from Public Protector South Africa that it would not make any further funding available for litigation arising from the parliamentary probe into her fitness to hold office.

This, as Mkhwebane told a media briefing in Midrand yesterday that she planned to take on review the ad hoc committee report, which has endorsed advocate Kholeka Gcaleka as the next PP.

In a letter addressed to Motsoeneng Bill Attorneys, state attorney KI Chowe said: “We have obtained instructions from the office of PPSA on legal support for advocate Mkhwebane.

“The office of the PP has instructed us to advise that advocate Mkhwebane was granted funding at state cost, only limited to section 194 committee proceedings and that the funding was not intended for litigation from the inquiry or any other matter beyond the inquiry.”

In her response to the letter, Mkhwebane described the state’s decision to stop her legal funding as “going against the court ruling and the constitution”.

“On 20 August, only three days after their appointment, my new lawyers Motsoeneng Bill Attorneys wrote a letter to the committee (for Section 194) chair requesting for the deferment, by a couple of weeks, of the proposed adoption of the final report until the consultations with client and counsel, as well as the process of their familiarisation with the brief documents.

“However, on 22 August, the committee went ahead with its deliberations as scheduled.

“Despite warnings and contrary representations of some of the political parties in the committee, most of the members decided to reject my attorneys’ request and went on to adopt the report.

“Since then, I have asked my attorneys to write to the (National Assembly) speaker to request her to refrain from entertaining the report due to it being tainted with several illegalities, specified in the said letter.

“What right-thinking South Africans must ask is – apart from pure hatred and vindictiveness – what is the purpose of ignoring all the rules of fairness and blindly steaming ahead with the removal of the public protector, whose term will be ending in a couple of weeks’ time and when the process of identifying a new PP is almost finalised?

“The answer is that there is no rational purpose to be achieved.”

Mkhwebane said the determination of her gratuity was “not the cause of vacation of office, but the period of service served”.

“Even if I were removed today, before the expiry of my term, I would be entitled to my gratuity, which is determined according to a formula stipulated in my conditions of service – approved by parliament in 2022,” said Mkhwebane.

Conceding that the episode for her removal has taken its toll on her and her family, Mkhwebane thanked those who have supported her in this battle – especially her family, legal representatives and many progressive members of the public.

“The truth is that the current process is no longer aimed at the noble goals of holding public officials accountable, but by other personal or political agendas – driven by revenge, hatred and vindictiveness,” she said.

“I therefore, vow to fight these dark forces to the bitter end and beyond.

“They cannot be allowed to prevail by pretending to act in terms of the constitution, when that is not clearly the case. “As I have always said in the process of fighting them – If I perish, I perish.”