DA escalates attempts to get rid of Mkhwebane following Estina judgment

In a statement issued by Democratic Alliance (DA) chief whip John Steenhuisen, the party calls for Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s head following Thursday’s scathing judgment finding she had failed to fulfil her constitutional duties while working on her overturned report into the Estina Dairy Farm matter.

The DA called on Monday for parliament to expedite removal proceedings against Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane after her remedial actions against President Cyril Ramaphosa were set aside, pending a judicial review of her report.

According to Steenhuisen, Thursday’s judgment “makes it clear that Parliament can no longer delay the removal proceedings against her”.

Judge Ronel Tolmay’s judgment ordered that Mkhwebane’s office must pay 85% of both the DA and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution’s (Casac) legal costs relating to the Estina case and that she herself must pay 7.5% of costs in her personal capacity.

She also did not mince words in her judgement, declaring that the public protector had failed to fulfil her constitutional duties, that her “dereliction of duty” in the Estina matter was “more lamentable” than in her report on ABSA/Bankorp and the Reserve Bank, which was also overturned with costs, and that she had “turned a blind eye to South Africa’s most poor and vulnerable”.

READ MORE: Ramaphosa wins against ‘mind-boggling’ Mkhwebane, with costs granted against her and EFF

In May this year, Tolmay found that advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s report was unconstitutional and invalid and set it aside, based on an application lodged by the DA and Casac. The costs part of the judgment was reserved and was what Judge Tolmay ruled on earlier today.

“This ruling is an indictment on Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s competence. There is no more denying – the Public Protector is wholly unfit and improper to hold the office of such a crucial Chapter 9 body,” said Steenhuisen in his statement.

“These bruising defeats are stacking up on a weekly basis, and the longer she stays at the helm of this institution, the more damage she will do.

“In her almost three years in office, she has successfully tarnished the credibility, authority and independence of the office of the public protector.

“The DA respects the important role the office of the public protector plays in strengthening South Africa’s democracy, however, we will not waver in holding an inept and problematic incumbent to account.

Today’s ruling on the Estina costs in just the latest in a string of bruising defeats the public protector has faced in the past couple of weeks.

READ MORE: Mkhwebane to appeal costs order over Estina report

On July 22, the constitutional court upheld a personal costs order against public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane over her report involving Absa/Bankorp and the Reserve Bank, dismissing her attempt to appeal it.

Then, on July 29, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan was granted an interdict to stop Mkhwebane from enforcing the remedial action stipulated in a recent report finding he had violated the constitution through his involvement in the so-called Sars “rogue unit”.

On August 8, President Cyril Ramaphosa was granted an interdict against having to implement remedial actions against Gordhan relating to an earlier report finding he had irregularly approved the retirement of former Sars deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay. Mkhwebane’s attempt to oppose the interdict was, with the judge also ruling against the public protector and the Economic Freedom Fighters, on costs.

Finally, on Monday this week, Ramaphosa obtained an urgent interim interdict on the implementation of remedial action stipulated by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in her report, which found he had misled parliament over Bosasa donations to his CR17 election campaign. Unlike the other matters, this was unopposed by Mkhwebane.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

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