Busisiwe Mkhwebane unable to continue with impeachment inquiry because legal team not fully paid
Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says she cannot continue with the parliamentary impeachment inquiry against her because her legal team has not been paid in full. This has led to the Section 194 Committee adjourning without hearing evidence from Mkhwebane’s witness, as her counsel was not at the inquiry.
Mkhwebane says her legal team has only been paid 70% of the legal fees. She relies on a Constitutional Court judgment that she is entitled to legal representation.
“Now we come here, you speak about 74%, is it fair? I mean people who stayed the whole Christmas, children and bonds which are in arrears and interest now it’s as if 74% is doing people a favour. Why not pay 100%? They even refused to sit with the team to discuss all those nitty-gritty and resolve all those issues,” explains the suspended Public Protector.
Although she said the legal team was not on strike, Mkhwebane said she could not give them further instructions until they were paid. I must emphatically state I never gave them an instruction to proceed for now until all of these issues are clarified so that must be clear that not to say the legal team is on strike.”
The inquiry was forced to adjourn to liaise with the office of the Public Protector regarding the issue of payment. The inquiry will resume on Wednesday with Bianca Mvuyana, an investigator in the Public Protector’s office, who was subpoenaed by the committee.
“I want to confirm that we are going to have Ms Bianca coming in both on Thursday morning and Wednesday morning,” says Inquiry chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi. Last week, Acting Public Protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, told MPs about the implications of Mkhwebane’s legal costs on the office of the Public Protector.
“I was at a meeting of the Justice Portfolio Committee where the acting public protector presented and it was quite clear to us that as Al Jama’ah the cost of this hearing has bankrupted the public protector’s office and they can’t continue doing their work and they may have to close down,” said Al Jama-ah’s Ganief Hendricks. The inquiry is set to hear from former Deputy Public Protector Advocate Kevin Malunga on Friday.
Source: SABC
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