Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s interdict application against the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and President Cyril Ramaphosa will be heard on May 18.
The Western Cape High Court heard Mkhwebane’s urgent application on Tuesday, which seeks to block Ramaphosa from suspending her as the public protector of the republic.
The postponement was due to an “unfortunate incident” that was not explained in court, and which had occurred during the rescission application.
The urgent application is Mkhwebane’s second attempt to have parliament’s impeachment proceedings declared unconstitutional. In March, parliament was set to proceed with its inquiry into her fitness to hold office despite a request by her lawyers to stop the process until her recession application.
Previously, the Constitutional Court dismissed Mkhwebane’s report on donations relating to Ramaphosa’s campaign for the ANC 2017 leadership race in Nasrec, Johannesburg.
In her investigation, Mkhwebane found that Ramaphosa should be investigated for money-laundering on the basis that he failed to disclose the source of the funds that had gone into his election campaign. She also found the president to be conflicted, which she cited as the main reason why he could not suspend her.
But Ramaphosa upheld that he has every right to suspend her and that Mkhwebane is in no position to block him from performing his constitutional duties.
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