ANC MUST ALSO SHOULDER BLAME FOR MKHWEBANE

AFTER Parliament confirmed Busisiwe Mkhwebane as South Africa’s Public Protector, succeeding Thuli Madonsela, she went on a media blitz, taking questions and giving all the right answers.

In an interview with the SABC shortly after her appointment, Mkhwebane said: “My focus in that office (of the Public Protector) is that you’re subjected to the Constitution and the rule of law, and you need to conduct your work without fear or favour”.

Four years later, and after having had several of her findings overturned in court, it can only be concluded that Mkhwebane has failed to live up to the standards which she set for herself, or grossly misunderstands the role of her office.

In the latest blow, the High Court in Pretoria set aside Mkhwebane’s report on the so-called Sars “rogue unit”.

Mkhwebane had found that former Sars commissioner and current Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan had misled Parliament by failing to disclose a meeting with the Guptas, and violated intelligence laws when he oversaw the establishment of the Sars High-Risk Investigations Unit.

The three judges of the High Court found that Mkhwebane had failed to conduct her investigations in a manner befitting her office.

The judges also ruled that the unit had not contravened the National Strategic Intelligence Act.

The court found that Mkhwebane also inexplicably ignored the report of the Nugent Commission in her findings, and the apology and retraction for adopting the report of the Sars advisory board headed by retired Judge Frank Kroon.

Essentially, the court found that Mkhwebane had cut corners, ignoring reams of evidence to reach a foregone conclusion.

There’s no doubt that this latest judgment will be used as evidence in Parliament’s probe of Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.

While National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise might want to pull her nose at the judicial stench surrounding Mkhwebane, the ANC should be reminded that it is their MPs who failed to vet her, even when opposition parties (including the EFF) raised questions about her background.