Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Section 194 committee inquiring into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkwhebane’s fitness for office has backtracked on its decision that her predecessor would not appear before it.
Thuli Madonsela will now give evidence on Monday and Tuesday.
Madonsela was scheduled to testify as a witness for Mkhwebane after the committee previously resolved to summon her.
She decided to appear voluntarily, but not to consult with Mkhwebane’s legal team or let them help her draw up her affidavit.
However, on Wednesday morning, after complaining about committee processes for about 30 minutes, Mkhwebane’s advocate, Dali Mpofu SC, indicated that he was not prepared to lead Madonsela’s evidence because the committee had “hijacked” her.
The committee did nothing of the sort – and, after some toing and froing, the committee resolved not to call Madonsela as a witness, as neither Mpofu nor the evidence leaders – who still question Madonsela’s relevance to the committee’s work – were prepared to lead her evidence.
The committee accepted her affidavit, which speaks to the CIEX and Vrede investigations, as written evidence.
Mpofu threatened that they would either go to court, or submit a fresh proposal to the committee to call Madonsela as a witness.
“In which case you’ll have a much longer delay,” said Mpofu.
On Thursday, the committee concluded the evidence of Public Protector chief investigator Rodney Mataboge.
At the end of the proceedings, Mpofu informed committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi that they accepted his proposal.
This took at least one MP by surprise, as the DA’s Mimmy Gondwe expressed her confusion.
Dyantyi explained that he, on Wednesday evening, wrote to Mkhwebane’s legal team with the proposal that Madonsela’s evidence be heard on Monday and Tuesday.
This is the proposal Mpofu agreed to. Mkhwebane’s team will lead Madonsela’s evidence.
When it decided to summon her, the committee limited the scope of Madonsela’s testimony to the Vrede and CIEX investigations.
These investigations were started during her term, but completed by Mkhwebane and then set aside by the courts. Those judgments form part of the basis of the charges of misconduct and incompetence against Mkhwebane.
In her four-page affidavit, Madonsela related how the State Security Agency (SSA) once intercepted evidence she had gathered on the CIEX investigation.
Among the reams of evidence before the committee of the SSA’s peculiar interest in the Office of the Public Protector, is testimony that Mkhwebane got much of the wording for her controversial remedial action in the CIEX report that Parliament should amend the Constitution to change the Reserve Bank’s mandate from the SSA.
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