A step backwards for SA: Mkhwebane’s removal should worry us all

With former public protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane being shown the door, the way has been paved for the acting public protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, to assume the mantle.

The office of the public protector is constitutionally mandated to investigate and bring to light all that requires accountability from those who have been entrusted with the responsibility to run the state.

This role is crucial in preserving our constitutional democracy and protecting the principle that no-one is above the law.

Notwithstanding that this position is a seven-year term, we ought to appreciate that it is a perfect timeframe for a public protector to carry out his/her duties effectively.

It is a term long enough to give the public protector time to get used to his/her responsibilities, while on the other hand, short enough to avoid the public protector getting too comfortable and forgetting his/her responsibilities because of complacency.

But recently, the public protector’s term was ended prematurely.

Seemingly, she was blocked from doing her job by those the office of the public protector must investigate.

Never in the history of our country has something like this happened, even when former public protector Thuli Madonsela investigated former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla and state capture sagas.

Madonsela was given the space to do her job, even though some sectors were not happy. Granted, Mkhwebane blundered in many of her cases.

Her troubles worsened when she sought to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable.

Political power was used to deal with Mkhwebane after she investigated the CR17 campaign for the election of Ramaphosa as ANC president in 2017 and later when she probed his Phala Phala farm scandal.

This is the first time a public protector has been impeached in the new South Africa, and we should be wary about the notion that a Chapter 9 Institution head can be removed under the guise of incompetence.

Otherwise, we should also be seeing action being taken against national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi because of lack of prosecution in state capture cases.

It seems Mkhwebane’s biggest problem was not necessarily her incompetence, but that she was aligned to the wrong faction.

Our political principals should not be allowed to use their power to block and get rid of individuals from highly important offices such as the public protector just because they feel their interests and positions are being threatened.

It is correct for many to be sceptical about Gcaleka’s rise to the office of the public protector because it is evident she is up for promotion due to her findings that there was no wrongdoing from Ramaphosa in the Phala Phala matter.

This is a step backwards for our country and is a blow that is setting a bad precedent. It means we are at a risk of having a public protector who sings for her supper and lacks independence.

Our country needs a public protector who puts South Africans first. This means someone who seeks the truth, even if it sheds a negative light on the who’s who.

We need a public protector who won’t succumb to fear or favour, but will be our barometer for integrity and honesty. For the rule of law must always prevail above everything else.

However, what has happened to Mkhwebane should be a lesson to our public representatives that they should never allow themselves to be used or bullied as this will undermine the office of the public protector.

Once that happens, the office will cease to champion the interests of the people, as it is mandated to.