Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has suffered another hit in court on Monday as the Supreme Court of Appeal has thrown out her application to appeal judgment on the Estina Dairy Farm report.
The court has ordered Mkhwebane to pay some of the legal costs as the matter had no reasonable prospect of success and would be a waste of state resources.
Mkhwebane was taken to court by the DA and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac).
In March the DA said it had proof that Mkhwebane intentionally excluded crucial information from the final Vrede Dairy investigation report.
DA MPL Dr Roy Jankielsohn said in an email from Mkhwebane’s former CEO Themba Dlamini on 13 July 2017, it was revealed that the Free State government had given Estina free land to empower the locals, promising R114 million in funding without a tender and handing over R210 million.
Jankielsohn, the DA’s Free State leader, said Mkhwebane had denied the Guptas’ involvement in the Vrede Dairy scandal.
He further said Mkhwebane’s report revealed that:
“This email is further confirmation of political interference in her report and that she withheld crucial information from being exposed regarding money laundering and corruption,” he wrote in the statement.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.