PP accused of delaying as a tactic

PARLIAMENT has rejected suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s application to have the evidence leaders removed from the inquiry into her fitness to hold office and dismissed it as a delaying tactic.

Mkhwebane’s senior counsel Dali Mpofu on Monday told the committee that the committee’s evidence leaders, advocates Nazreen Bawa SC and Numisi Mayosi, had behaved in an unreasonable and procedurally unfair manner with regard to his client.

Mpofu complained that the evidence leaders displayed the names and fees of various black counsel and attorneys who had worked for the PPSA even though they knew the proceedings were “watched by millions”.

He also complained about Bawa and her questioning of PPSA legal services manager Muntu Sithole, which “amounted to cross-examination”.

Committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi made his ruling after the committee began by meeting in the absence of the evidence leaders, Mkhwebane and her legal team.

Dyantyi said there had been unanimity in the committee that the application bore no relevance to its work “and there is no way we can accede to it”.

During the deliberations several committee members raised the point that this application was now the sixth one brought by Mkhwebane’s legal team since the inception of the inquiry and that it was beginning to feel like a delaying tactic.

Parliament’s legal adviser Fatima Ebrahim reminded the committee that the first time the attorney names and fees were displayed had been at their direction and the second time had been at Dyantyi’s request when the evidence leaders wanted to make corrections.

Ebrahim said: “As such it cannot be said to be a decision taken by the evidence leaders who acted under instruction.”

After the ruling Mpofu made his opening remarks and then introduced the evidence of Mkhwebane’s first witness, South African Roadies Association chairperson Freddie Nyathela.

Mkhwebane made a finding in favour of Nyathela in a case he had against the National Arts Council.