Lungani Zungu
Suspended Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane has a fighting chance after the Western Cape High Court threw her a lifeline.
Following the ruling on Friday that her suspension was invalid, Mkhwebane launched an urgent application to have the ruling implemented, which could see her back at her job.
A full bench of the high court, judges Matthew Francis, Lister Nuku, and James Lekhuleni, collectively ruled that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s hurried decision to suspend Mkhwebane in March was unlawful and improper.
“There are in our view a number of reasons why the president would reasonably be perceived to be unable to bear an impartial mind when considering whether or not to suspend the application,” the court ruled.
Further, the judges said it was suspicious that Ramaphosa had suspended Mkhwebane shortly after she sent him 31 questions over the Phala Phala scandal.
This is after opposition parties, the ATM and UDM asked the public protector to investigate the alleged theft of $4 million at Ramaphosa’s farm in Limpopo in 2020.
“The decision of Mkhwebane to investigate the president and to put 31 questions to him, prompted the President not to wait a day more and to immediately suspend her,” read the judgement.
Soon after the judgement, the DA appealed the judgement, signalling another protracted legal battle with Mkhwebane whose seven-year fixed term ends next year.
The judgement comes amid a parliamentary inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Presidency said it will seek guidance from the Constitution on the next steps.
