Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has reportedly threatened to take National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise to court if Parliament goes ahead with an inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
The Sunday Times reported that Mkhwebane wrote to Modise in a strongly-worded 12-page letter, accusing her of being in breach of Section 194 of the Constitution and violating rules of Parliament.
This after the speaker referred to the justice committee a motion by Democratic Alliance chief whip John Steenhuisen that removal proceedings be instituted against the public protector following several court rulings into her reports that were adverse.
According to the publication, Mkhwebane argued that Parliament doesn’t currently have specific rules that dealt with the procedure to be followed on the public protector’s removal, despite Section 194 stating that the public protector could be removed from office based on “misconduct, incapacity, or incompetence”.
“Instead the [justice] committee is given a free hand to adopt a clearly unlawful and unconstitutional process where the public protector is simply called to a meeting and berated about cases that are pending before the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal,” Mkhwebane’s letter reportedly reads.
Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo told the paper Modise had responded to the public protector, saying the proceedings to test Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office would continue. While, Mkhwebane’s spokesperson Oupa Segwale, on Saturday, said they had not received Modise’s response and would not comment further on the matter.
You might also like…COP KILLED IN DELFT SHOOTOUT
A policeman who was gunned down in Delft has been described as a dedicated officer who was excellent at his job.
The officer, who hasn’t been named yet as officials were yet to inform his family, was shot and killed while on duty on Saturday night.
Two other officers who were on patrol with him were shot and wounded. The gunman fled the scene and later got into a shoot-out with other Delft officers. continue reading…
Source – EWN
