The National Assembly is expected to consider suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s impeachment following the Section 194 committee’s decision to adopt its final report.
The committee met on Tuesday to consider and adopt the report on the impeachment inquiry proceedings into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.
Monday was the deadline for Mkhwebane, who was found guilty on all four charges of misconduct and incompetence, to respond to the committee’s draft report after she was given 10 days to do so.
It was revealed in the committee’s last meeting on 11 August that the public protector’s lawyer, Chaane Attorneys, withdrew from representing her.
Providing an update on Tuesday, parliamentary legal advisor Fatima Ebrahim told the committee that a process to look for new attorneys took place between 14 and 20 August, with Motsoeneng Bill Attorneys Inc being appointed.
Ebrahim said the new attorneys wrote to the committee on Sunday, saying they would meet with Mkhwebane within 72 hours and no later than 23 August.
She pointed out that the law firm also asked for Mkhwebane’s deadline to fall away as it would take them “a couple of weeks” to catch up on the inquiry proceedings.
“In short, that letter is indicating that they intended to brief counsel, but would require time to familiarise themselves with the record and to get some direction from counsel as to the way forward and that way forward may or may not comment on the draft report,” she explained.
Before deliberating on the correspondence, Section 194 Committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi indicated that Mkhwebane has not sent any submissions on their draft report.
African National Congress (ANC) MP Bheki Nkosi said it was Mkhwebane’s responsibility to brief legal representation.
Nkosi warned that another postponement would impact the committee’s processes and its obligation to the National Assembly if they acceded to Mkhwebane’s request.
ANC deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude said she was of the view that the committee must adopt the report and take it to the National Assembly.
“As the committee, we don’t have an open-ended mandate to deal with this inquiry, so time is of essence to us and also to mention that the suspended public protector was given enough time to get legal representation,” she said.
Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Kevin Mileham said the “committee has been more than reasonable in its dealings” with Mkhwebane.
“Our parliamentary processes cannot be held ransom or dictated to by a person hellbent on running out the clock. We have to deal with things timeously and speedily… all that’s happened during the course of this inquiry has been for advocate Mkhwebane and advocate Dali Mpofu to play for time,” Mileham said.
Freedom Front Plus (FF+) MP Heloise Denner supported the adoption of the final report, but Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Omphile Maotwe and African Transformation Movement (ATM) MP Thandiswa Marawu pleaded for the committee to give Mkhwebane more time.
“How was she going to respond when she didn’t have the legal rep? We continue to be so unreasonable to the public protector,” Maotwe said.
While both the EFF and ATM hinted at taking the final report on review, Al Jamah-ah leader Ganief Hendricks said his party only disagrees with the recommendation that Mkhwebane should be removed from office.
“I want to make the last representation to the committee that we should consider a lesser penalty,” Hendricks said.
Mkhwebane has already rejected what she believed was a “predetermined outcome” and is likely to take the committee’s report on review. Following a briefing break, the committee, in its majority, adopted the final report and agreed to recommend Mkhwebane’s removal to the National Assembly.
“This is today the final word of the committee on this,” Dyantyi told MPs.
The chairperson highlighted that the report will now be the property of the National Assembly. A two-thirds majority will be required for MPs to remove Mkhwebane as the public protector, with her term in office set to end in October.
