Africa-Press – South-Africa. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane replaced the staff she purged from the Office of the Public Protector with officials from her previous employer, the State Security Agency (SSA), recently reinstated Free State head Sphelo Samuel testified.
On Friday morning, Samuel fielded questions from MPs serving on the Section 194 Committee conducting an inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness for office.
The MPs largely traversed topics covered during his main testimony on Wednesday and cross-examination the previous day.
ANC MP Judy Hermans asked Samuel why he thought Mkwhebane had an “orchestrated plan” to destroy the Office of the Public Protector, as he previously testified.
He said there was a purge of senior managers, and Mkhwebane replaced them with people who would be loyal to her.
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Hermans added it was a serious allegation and asked if external sources were at play. Samuel said some officials from the SSA came in to replace those purged.
There was also an official who left the SA Revenue Service (SARS) under a cloud. Samuel did not name him, but most probably referred to Luther Lebello – who has been referred to as former SARS commissioner Tom Moyane’s “hit man”.
Lebelo was cited in both the Nugent Commission into the functioning of SARS and in the Zondo Commission testimony as being instrumental in the sidelining of senior staff who were key to the functioning of SARS, which enabled the capture of the institution.
In February, Mkhwebane defended her decision to appoint Lebelo as chief of staff in December.
Samuel testified earlier Mkhwebane insisted Public Protector staff should obtain security clearance, but he did not believe it was necessary for them to do his work.
He applied twice, both times unsuccessfully. He believed it was a way for Mkhwebane to get rid of some staff.
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DA MP Mimmy Gondwe asked Samuel, who has worked under every Public Protector, whether they also required it and what clearance level – confidential, secret, top secret – Mkhwebane required.
Samuel said it was never a requirement for Public Protector staff to apply for security clearance.
This only happened once Mkwhebane became Public Protector. She required they apply for top secret clearance.
The meeting got off to a rocky start.
Committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi announced MPs would question Samuel.
DA MP Kevin Mileham hardly finished his first question before the ATM’s Vuyo Zungula raised a point of order, asking that advocate Dali Mpofu SC, should confirm he had concluded his cross-examination of Samuel.
Dyantyi said Zungula was not Mpofu’s “spokesperson”, and Zungula would complain bitterly about this.
Mpofu did complain he did not finish his cross-examination on Thursday afternoon.
“This is completely unfair, we can’t run this like a kangaroo court,” said Mpofu.
He added someone should have given him the courtesy of indicating he was “being gagged” or that his cross-examination was finished.
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Zungula and EFF MP Omphile Maotwe said Dyantyi was unfair, and he should allow Mpofu to continue with his cross-examination.
The other parties did not support this and said the time frames given to the parties in this inquiry had been clearly set out in its rules.
Mpofu was still unhappy and accused the inquiry of breaching both the audi alteram partem principle and principle of fairness.
He claimed it had “never been done before” to stop a legal representative from asking all their questions.
Dyantyi explained that on Wednesday, when they started, he gave time frames to the evidence leader, advocate Nazreen Bawa SC, who finished at 15:30.
He said he would re-examine Mpofu’s time at 15:00 on Thursday, which he did, and extended his time.
On Thursday, at around 15:30, Dyantyi informed the committee he extended Mpofu’s time for cross-examination until 17:00.
Dyantyi said if he gave the evidence leader a certain time frame, she had to tailor her questioning. Mpofu must do the same.
This quibble about time frames lasted more than 40 minutes.
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