By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially removed Busisiwe Mkhwebane as the Public Protector, a month before her term in office comes to an end.
Mkhwebane was officially removed from office after a majority of MPs in the National Assembly voted on Monday in support of her impeachment.
318 members of Parliament supported her removal, while 43 were against and one abstained.
In a letter to Mkhwebane, Ramaphosa said the Constitution states that following the conclusion of the section 194 process, he “must” remove the Public Protector from office.
“I therefore hereby inform you that you are hereby removed from the Office of the Public Protector in terms of section 194(3)(b) of the Constitution on the grounds of misconduct and incompetence,” the president said.
Mkhwebane on Wednesday morning posted Ramaphosa’s letter online, stating: “This injustice, sadly perpetrated on Steve Biko Day, will be legally challenged in review proceedings.
“If I perish, I perish. Ngiyathokoza Mzansi and Africa.”
The African National Congress (ANC) said the removal of Busisiwe Mkhwebane from office should serve as a lesson to her successor that a head of a Chapter 9 institution cannot act like a law unto themselves.
“As the nation closes the Mkhwebane chapter, we hope that the new public protector will take the sad and ugly lessons of the Mkhwebane era into account and strive to build a solid and accountable office that is above factional loyalties.
“Never again must a head of a Chapter 9 institution act like a law unto himself/herself. We hope her successor will have the humility and maturity to respect the decorum and dignity of the office and refrain from bringing it into disrepute,” said National Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.