Suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane believes her cardinal sin was to investigate politicians and institutions that some in the public deemed “untouchable”.
Taking to the stand on the first day of her defence testimony before the parliamentary inquiry to establish her fitness to hold office, Mkhwebane said she is looking forward to responding to charges against her, including misconduct and incompetence.
She said “touching the untouchables” is what caused all her troubles, noting that she never experienced “peace” during her six-and-a-half years in office.
Among the investigations that Mkhwebane conducted while in office included President Cyril Ramaphosa’s #CR17 ANC presidential campaign, the R3-billion that government allegedly failed to recover from Absa after the bank got a gift from the Reserve Bank, and the SA Revenue Service’s “rogue unit” case involving Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
She told the parliamentary committee on Wednesday that right at the start of her duties, the DA was the only party that did not support her appointment.
From then onwards, she said, the party led a public assault against her.
After that, the official opposition party alleged that “I was a spy, [something] they have not been able to prove since 2017”, she added.
She said the DA also initiated the ongoing parliamentary impeachment probe against her, citing that she will use her allocated days on the witness stand to “put things into perspective”.
“And indeed, for the public to hear directly from me, because those who have ears will hear, and those who have eyes will see.”
She said further that the public will then be able to “judge for themselves”.
The suspended public protector intends to dispel “the wrong narrative” that some powerful political players and their media allies built around her competence.
The bulk of her introductory testimony focused on the alleged maltreatment she received from parliament since the DA-sponsored inquiry was set in motion.
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