‘Removal of Mkhwebane should serve as lesson for new public protector’ − ANC

The African National Congress (ANC) said the removal of Busisiwe Mkhwebane from office should serve as a lesson to her successor that a head of a Chapter 9 institution cannot act like a law unto themselves.

Mkhwebane was officially removed from office after a majority of MPs in the National Assembly on Monday voted in support of her impeachment.

318 members of parliament supported her removal, while 43 were against and one abstained.

Mkhwebane out of-depth

In a statement, ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri welcomed the removal of Mkhwebane from office.

“It has been clear to many South Africans that Ms Mkhwebane, as public protector, was out of her depth. Her conduct and incompetence have made her continued occupation of that office untenable.

“We also commend all MPs for upholding the principle of accountability and consequence management against misconduct and incompetence,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.

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Bhengu-Motsiri said the report of the Section 194 Committee is consistent with the judgments of various courts, including the Constitutional Court.

“The  highest court in the land made scathing and damning findings including the public protector’s flawed model of investigation. She was not honest about her engagement during investigations.

“The public protector had acted in bad faith; did not fully understand her constitutional duty to be impartial and perform her functions without fear, favour or prejudice; had failed to produce a complete record of the proceeding…” she said.

Lessons

Bhengu-Motsiri said they hope the new public protector will learn from Mkhwebane’s mistakes.

“As the nation closes the Mkhwebane chapter, we hope the new public protector will take the sad and ugly lessons of the Mkhwebane era into account and strive to build a solid and accountable office is above factional loyalties.

“Never again must a head of a Chapter 9 institution act like a law unto himself/herself. We hope her successor will have the humility and maturity to respect the decorum and dignity of the office and refrain from bringing it into disrepute,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.

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