ConCourt dismisses Mkhwebane’s bid to block parliamentary inquiry

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday dismissed Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s application for direct access to appeal a Western Cape High Court’s ruling to interdict parliament’s removal proceedings against her.

In December last year, the high court ruled that Mkhwebane’s application had no prospects of success.

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This comes as the National Assembly is due to vote on Tuesday afternoon on whether to establish a parliamentary inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.

At the weekend, the ANC caucus in Parliament said it supported the process to set up an inquiry to look into whether Mkhwebane is fit to hold office.

However, the ANC’s chief whip Pemmy Majodina said it was too early for the governing party to decide whether to vote for or against her removal.

“Caucus held an extensive discussion on the matter and resolved to support the process. It acknowledged that we are in a process and are not, at this point, dealing with the merits or demerits of the case. Therefore, questions of voting cannot arise at this stage.”

It’s also understood that the ANC called an emergency meeting with its parliamentary caucus on Thursday ahead of the vote in the National Assembly.

Earlier this month, an independent review panel found substantial information that constitutes prima facie evidence of incompetence and misconduct against the public protector.

The panel, established by National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise last year, comprised retired Constitutional Court judge Bess Nkabinde, advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza and advocate Johan de Waal.

Mkhwebane is on sabbatical leave to get some rest, her office said in January.

The leave commenced on 15 January and is expected to end on 31 March.

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