By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Legal Practice Council (LPC) has filed an application in the Gauteng High Court for impeached Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to be struck from the roll of advocates.
The LPC’s application is based on 18 separate grounds, including allegations of dishonesty, incompetence and bias.
The Legal Practice Council is a national, statutory body established in terms of Section 4 of the Legal Practice Act of 2014 and is “mandated to regulate the professional conduct of legal practitioners to ensure accountability”, according to its website.
This includes objective to “determine, enhance and maintain appropriate standards of professional practice and ethical conduct of all legal practitioners and all candidate legal practitioners” and enhance and maintain the integrity and status of the legal profession.
The LPC’s move to have Mkhwebane struck off the roll of advocates is not unprecedented. In July 2019, a complaint was lodged against her, for lying under oath.
This follows a Constitutional Court judgment which found she had acted in bad faith and put forward a “number of falsehoods” in the Absa/Bankorp case.
Subsequently, in March 2020, the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria dismissed an application seeking a declaratory order that Mkhwebane was unfit to hold office.
Her tenure as the public protector was heavily criticized by multiple courts for a fundamental lack of understanding of legal processes.
Based on these findings, the LPC lodged an application to have her struck from the roll of advocates, labeling her conduct dishonourable.
She has characterized these moves, including her impeachment, as a politically motivated witch-hunt.
Mkhwebane says she is shocked and surprised by the LPC’s decision to have her struck from the advocates’ roll.
She says she will oppose the application and was engaging attorneys to defend the matter.
“We will defend the matter. We will present our case before court. And I hope there would be a fair hearing as well before court and all these issues will be taken into consideration.”
Mkhwebane maintains that she was not a practising advocate when the events in question occurred.
She argues that the LPC was relying on findings from the parliamentary inquiry instead of following its own disciplinary procedures.
The Section 194 committee ultimately found that the advocate was unfit to hold office and removed her as Public Protector on 11 September 2023.
“Remember, it was not a fair process because it was finalised when I was not there, when my legal representation was not even present,” she said.
“They are raising issues of incompetence and dishonesty, but at the end of the day, it’s like I’ve been punished over and over and over again,” she said.
The National Assembly (NA) adopted the report of the Committee for Section 194 Enquiry, which recommended the removal of Mkhwebane from her position as the Public Protector based on its findings that she had misconducted herself and is incompetent. A total of 318 Members voted for the removal of Adv Mkhwebane from office while 43 voted against and one (1) abstained.
Mkhwebane’s CV to Parliament lists her as an advocate of the High Court and having obtained B. Proc and LLB degrees from the University of the North (Currently the University of Limpopo).