CAPE TOWN – The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants a fresh investigation into Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness for office.
The party has written to new National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise asking her to initiate a parliamentary inquiry.
The move came after this week’s North Gauteng High Court ruling which set aside as unlawful and invalid her report on the Gupta-linked Estina dairy farm in Vrede; the latest in a number of court findings against Mkhwebane.
In the wake of another judicial slap-down, the DA was pinning its hopes on the sixth Parliament to thoroughly investigate Mkhwebane’s fitness for office.
A previous bid by the party to get an inquiry underway after earlier court rulings against her were torpedoed by the justice committee in February.
DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen said it was not a request for Mkhwebane’s removal, but simply that her conduct and competence be investigated as provided for by the Constitution.
“What we’re doing is once again asking Parliament, is this the right person for fulfilling this very important role of Public Protector? Certainly, given this embarrassing court reversal, Parliament would be derelict in its duty if it wasn’t at the very least to initiate an inquiry into the PPs fitness to hold office.”
Mkhwebane has indicated that she intended appealing Monday’s High Court judgment on the Estina dairy farm matter.
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