Busisiwe Mkhwebane REMOVED as public protector
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has now been booted from her post, just a month before she was scheduled to conclude her tenure
In historic move, the National Assembly has voted to remove Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane from her post, just 32 days before she was scheduled to officially end her contentious tenure at the Chapter Nine institution.
This comes after Parliament’s Section 194 Committee found Mkhwebane guilty of gross misconduct and negligence and recommended that she vacate office.
HOW DID MPS VOTE?
A total of 318 MPs voted in support of Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s removal while 43 were not in favour of the motion. There was one abstention. Several MPs could not vote as they were absent, including EFF leader Julius Malema and fellow party MP Naledi Chirwa.
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POLITICAL PARTIES SLAM MKHWEBANE REMOVAL
The decision to get rid of Busisiwe Mkhwebane doesn’t sit well with several political parties in Parliament, mainly the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and African Transformation Movement (ATM).
Ahead of the voting, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa accused the ANC of colluding with the DA to oust Mkhwebane.
“It is ironic that former DA leader Mmusi Maimane who raised the alarm and took the matter to the public protector, found himself in the cold and now the DA is in cahoots with the ANC to remove advocate Mkhwebane. Is this why Maimane was sacrificed? It seems advocate Mkhwebane had hit a raw nerve with her 2019 report and that the ANC has closed ranks with a vengeance,” Holomisa said.
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HOW WE GOT HERE: The DA in parliament submitted the motion to institute removal proceedings against her back in February 2020, citing a number of scathing court judgements against her, particularly relating to some of her investigations including the Estina Dairy probe. In March 2021, Parliament then voted in support of establishing the committee, after adopting a report by a panel of experts, which found there were grounds for an investigation into the public protector’s fitness to hold office.
