The prosecutor said the current litigation was designed to benefit Mkhwebane herself, not her office.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane at the Western Cape High Court on October 25, 2022. Photo: Lindsay Dentlinger/Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURG – Suspended public defender Busisiwe Mkhwebane has joined the Democratic Alliance (DA) and President Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a personal expenses order against her.
Mkhwebane faced them in the Constitutional Court on Thursday over her suspension.
Just days after she referred questions to the president about the Phala Phala saga, the Western Cape High Court in September found that Ramaphosa’s decision was tainted by bias – invalidating it and setting it aside.
Subsequently, both the President and the DA appealed to the Constitutional Court, which were argued on Thursday by various other related applications.
Ramaphoze and prosecutors want Mkhwebane to pay the costs they have requested in her personal capacity.
Prosecutors said the trial was aimed at furthering Mkhwebane’s own interests, not those of her office.
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The party also said the counter-appeal it filed, or the appeal it filed against the Supreme Court’s rejection of its application for an immediate ruling in September, has no merit.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa said the Public Protector’s office never authorized a cross-appeal or appeal, meaning he could not be prosecuted.
He also said that Mkhwebane’s counter-appeal and her appeal against the order of immediate execution were “manifestly and completely without merit” and “abusive”.
Mkhwebane said she was charged with a public function.
“What are they doing? Instilling fear, inscribing threats, and making anyone else who would want to protect and defend their flights of people fear it.”
She went on to express her frustration: “I think even the judges should also take this very seriously and not just let it happen because I’m exercising my right. I am human; I’m not just a thing, a dog or someone who has millions hidden somewhere.”
Judgment is reserved.
