Busisiwe Mkhwebane shuts down EFF complaint into Gordhan’s meeting with Mogoeng
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has cleared Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan of allegations that he had attempted to influence the appointment of his friend, KwaZulu-Natal Judge Dhaya Pillay, to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
This follows a complaint lodged by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP and deputy president Floyd Shivambu, against Gordhan for the alleged breach of the Executive Ethics Code.
Shivambu approached the Office of the Public Protector in April last year, after retired Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that Gordhan, in April 2016, held a meeting with him in Cape Town.
Mogoeng said Gordhan called the meeting to enquire about the performance of Pillay at an earlier round of JSC interviews for judges to be appointed to the SCA.
Pillay was among the candidates vying to be appointed to the superior court in Bloemfontein.
Investigation closed
During a media briefing on Wednesday in Pretoria, Mkhwebane said her office had to close down the investigation into Shivambu’s complaint after his allegations could not be corroborated.
Mkhwebane said the investigation revealed that when Gordhan and Mogoeng met at the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, on 6 April 2016, the spokesperson for the JSC had already announced the interview results.
She said it was already public knowledge at the time that Judge Pillay was unsuccessful in the interviews.
“It would therefore be factually or legally impossible for Mr Gordhan to have influenced the outcome of an interview that had already been concluded,” Mkhwebane said.
“Accordingly, Mr Gordhan’s conduct could not be regarded as having been in breach of paragraphs 2.1(c) and (d) and 2.3(b) of the Executive Ethics Code.”
In other news – Andile and Tamia Mpisane’s n#de maternity photoshoot has Mzansi talking – Photo
Tamia Mpisane shared more maternity photoshoot content and Mzansi is shaken. We’ll this time around, their photos are steamy, semi-n#de and they got Mzansi tongues wagging. Fans of the couple are pretty impressed with the uniqueness of their maternity photos.
Mzansi is also impressed at how cute and unique they look like a couple. So far, the post where they shared these daring images has gained over 30,000 likes and over 500 comments. Learn More
