By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane will on Thursday visit the Brooklyn Police Station near Hatfield, Pretoria, to lay criminal charges against consultant Ismail Abramjee and his accomplice(s).
This follows a text message Abramjee sent to advocate Andrew Breitenbach, the lead senior counsel for the Speaker of the National Assembly, saying that he had it “on good authority” that the Constitutional Court (Concourt) had decided to dismiss Mkhwebane’s rescission application regarding its February judgment that Parliament could proceed with her impeachment.
In a statement by Mkhwebane on Wednesday, she said: “This [text message] suggested that the apex court’s decision was leaked to Abramjee before being made public.”
Abramjee, however, insists his message to Breitenbach was based on media reports and “my own legal analysis”, and not on any “inside information or knowledge” from the apex court.
In March, Mkhwebane had asked the apex court to rescind its ruling that almost all of the rules governing Parliament’s pending inquiry into her fitness to hold office – barring the now invalidated rule that she was not allowed legal representation – were lawful.
She has maintained that the interests of justice require that it must be reversed.
Mkhwebane has since approached the high court to block Parliament from proceeding with that investigation and prevent President Cyril Ramaphosa from suspending her, pending the Constitutional Court’s decision on that rescission application.
She said the decision in question had a profound bearing on the proceedings before the Western Cape High Court. “The leaking of such sensitive information, if established, will also have a huge bearing on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary,” it said.
Mkhwebane will visit the Brooklyn police station on Thursday afternoon.
Her office indicated the charges she would like the police to investigate would be revealed once she handed over her affidavit.
Last week, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said the leaking of the judgment was “unacceptable”, and is being investigated.