Sipho Mabena

By Sipho Mabena

Premium Journalist


Busisiwe Mkhwebane to attend mass prayer meeting for her

In June, the public protector tweeted that only divine intervention could stop her.


Battered and bruised by the courts and public condemnation, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is seeking divine intervention.

A mass prayer meeting is planned for her in KwaMhlanga Showgrounds in Mpumalanga on Friday.

Slammed for a “flawed” investigation and dishonesty in her Absa/Bankorp investigation and having had her key investigative reports rebuked and set aside, Mkhwebane has been through a rough time.

One of the organisers of the prayer meeting, Pastor JJ Mtsweni, of Assemblies of God in KwaMhlanga, said the public protector was very grateful for the initiative.

“People we have entrusted with our trust are at each other’s throats so we need to pray for our leaders.

“Since everybody seems to be fighting with Mkhwebane we called and said ‘let’s pray for you’, and she agreed. We are bringing her into the presence of the Lord,” Mtsweni said.

Pastor Thenjiwe Mahlangu, of Victory Faith Convention in Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga, said the mass prayer was to ask God to intervene against the barrage of negative sentiments around Mkhwebane’s office.

“As spiritual mediators, we feel there is strife, there is too much noise and unease, so we felt it was our duty to ask God to intervene.

“News platforms are littered with negativity to the extent that it seems as though our world is collapsing,” he said.

Oupa Segalwe, Mkhwebane’s spokesperson, confirmed that she would attend the mass prayer for her, but made no further comments.

Mkhwebane’s family was reportedly worried about how she would manage to pay 15% of the South African Reserve Bank’s legal fees in the Absa/Bankorp matter. The amount the court has ordered her to pay from her pocket was estimated to be R900,000. She has also had further cost orders against her.

In June, Mkhwebane tweeted that only divine intervention would stop her.

“I know some of you may not be Christian, but I strongly believe I was placed in this position by the God that I serve.

“I believe that only He can remove me if He is of the view that I have failed,” said Mkhwebane.

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