By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The chairperson of the parliamentary committee established to probe the fitness to hold office of suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says he won’t recuse himself.
This is after an independent legal opinion and the support from other members of the committee found that there were no strong grounds presented for Qubudile Dyantyi to recuse himself. In a committee meeting on Monday, Dyantyi also said he would not be stepping down from chairing the impeachment inquiry of Mkhwebane.
Dyantyi has been accused of being unfair and biased against Mkhwebane.
The Section 194 inquiry was halted last month to probe the validity of a submission by Mkhwebane’s legal representative Dali Mpofu for the chairperson to recuse himself
On Monday Dyantyi said he will continue to lead proceedings, as Mkhwebane failed to establish the facts that indicate bias on his part.
“I am satisfied, for the reasons set out below, that there is no basis for me to stop discharging the important public function with which I have been charged.
“I remain open-minded in my conduct with the proceedings and can say with certainty that I have not reached any firm conclusions in relations to any content of the motion.
“I have no preconceived notions as to the outcomes of the committee’s work,” he added.
Mkhwebane also wanted DA’s Kevin Mileham to recuse himself from the inquiry, accusing him of being biased because he is married to former DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone, who brought the impeachment motion before Parliament. Mkhwebane believes that, for this reason, Mileham is biased.
On Mileham, Dyantyi said when complaints were raised about Mileham being part of the committee, back in July, legal advice received was that Mileham’s marriage to Mazonne did not preclude him from being a member of a parliamentary committee. Dyantyi said the committee accepted the advice and no objections were raised.
“The motion was lodged by Ms Mazzone in her capacity as the chief whip of the Democratic Alliance. Mileham, as confirmed in the legal advice received, is entitled to occupy his position as a Member of Parliament and participate in committees to which he is appointed. On the basis of the abovementioned advice, no steps were taken for his removal from the committee,” said Dyantyi.
Outside of the application, EFF’s Omphile Maotwe has also raised objections about Mileham being part of the committee and has also accused him of being biased purely because he is married to Mazzone.
Mileham wrote a letter to Dyantyi on September 26 stating that he would not recuse himself from the committee. On Monday, he read the same letter to the committee.