Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane will now have to face the inquiry into her fitness to hold office after the Constitutional Court dismissed her rescission bid.
The apex court on Wednesday dealt Mkhwebane a blow, dashing her hopes of holding on to her job when it ruled that she had failed to make a case for the CR17 report rescission.
Mkhwebane had applied for a rescission of a prior ruling finding fault with her CR17 report.
She tried to use this case in a bid to delay the commencement of parliament’s inquiry into her fitness to hold office last month when her lawyers wrote a letter asking for the process to be halted, pending the outcome of the case.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo on Wednesday said there was nothing stopping parliament from going ahead with the impeachment process.
“Parliament is proceeding ahead with its work as there is nothing that compels it to stop. It has begun its work. It will also determine its programme, which will give an idea by when it’s likely to conclude its task,” Mothapo said on Wednesday.
This is a second blow the ConCourt has unleashed on Mkhwebane in as many months after it ruled last month that the appointment of a judge on an independent panel to determine the grounds for her removal was procedurally correct.
Mothapo said last month’s ruling had paved the way for parliament. “The committee was clear to proceed with its work following the [February] ConCourt ruling on the direct access review application lodged by parliament,” he said.
Mkhwebane’s spokesperson Oupa Segalwe had not responded, as promised, to Sowetan’s request for comment by the time of going to print.
The process to impeach Mkhwebane was stopped last year after she approached the Western Cape High Court after then speaker Thandi Modise appointed a panel to determine if there was a prima facie case against Mkhwebane.
The panel, which was chaired by retired Constitutional Court judge Bess Nkabinde, found that she had a case to answer.
Law expert Dr Llewellyn Curlewis from the University of Pretoria said the ConCourt’s ruling presented a problem for Mkhwebane.
“This is actually a problem for her as she had bargained on the ConCourt taking time before ruling on the matter, hoping that this would drag on until her term of office is done,” Curlewis said.
He said there was nothing that would stop parliament now as Mkhwebane’s possible removal from office loomed large.
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