Mkhwebane says an extra R4 million for her legal bills ‘unrealistic and absurd’

An extra R4 million set aside to pay for suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s legal bills in her fight to save her job was “unrealistic and absurd”, she told the parliamentary Section 194 inquiry yesterday.

Public Protector South Africa initially made R4.5 million available to cover Mkhwebane’s legal costs, which later ballooned to R30 million.

Asked whether legal fees would be payable by Mkhwebane, should she be impeached, Accountability Now executive director, advocate Paul Hoffman (SC) said that “will depend on the terms, on which her legal fees were paid, which detail has not been made public”.

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“It is doubtful that the PP will be able to pay any substantial sum as she has become impoverished by the many personal costs awards, made against her by the courts,” said Hoffman.

R4 million ‘sufficient’

Expressing a view shared by some MPs, committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi, has maintained that the R4 million would be sufficient in covering legal costs during the four days set for Mkhwebane’s final testimony.

“What would have been a problem of funding, has now been made available for the completion of the programme – concluding what we started in 2022.

“We have what seems to be available and nothing more. “For the next four days from Monday, we plan to conclude evidence of the Public Protector,” said Dyantyi – offering Mkhwebane seven days to finalise legal funding processes with PPSA.

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Launching a scathing attack on Dyantyi, said Mkhwebane: “On the 3rd of April I attended virtually and I was kicked out during a so-called committee meeting, which was illegal.

“You continued with the inquiry and you said I would be given an opportunity to respond. But the revised programme does not cater for the right of reply.”

Mkhwebane’s court application

Buoyed by the positive outcome of the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) verdict, which ruled in her favour – forcing PPSA to make legal defence funding available to her during committee hearings – Mkhwebane has lodged an urgent court application, citing National Assembly (NA) Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, PPSA, political parties represented in the NA and Dyantyi – as respondents.

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In her heads of argument, Mkhwebane said despite Dyantyi last month giving an undertaking that committee hearings would adjourn until the funding crisis was resolved, “he proposed a six-day ‘meeting of the committee’ – giving evidence leaders an opportuning to address MPs in her absence.

“This was later described as a process to empower the members, seemingly at the initiative of the chairperson.

“I objected to this on the grounds that it would be unfair and prejudicial to allow such a blatantly illegal an unauthorised route.

“However, the chair overruled all those (MPs) who objected and insisted on following his proposed way forward,” said Mkhwebane.

She warned that the cap placed on the R4 million to be spent in her defence – “in turn premised on the impossible, flawed and totally unreasonable programme, is also a non-starter”.

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“It represents the surest way to guarantee that the present impasse, will replay and repeat itself, come the projected and totally impossible June 2023 end date of the inquiry – or the depletion of the capped funds, whichever will happen first,” argued Mkhwebane.

brians@citizen.co.za