By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Section 194 committee met to deliberate on Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s application for the removal of evidence leaders Nazreen Bawa and Ncumisa Bawa.
Mkhwebane’s team had until this morning to answer the response filed by the evidence leaders, which was scathing, but had not done so.
Her legal team gave a “unilateral indication” to the committee that it would file Mkhwebane’s response to the evidence leaders at 10:30 – two and a half hours after the 08:00 deadline given to it.
The evidence leaders probing Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office said the racism accusations levelled against them over legal fees disclosures are not only false and “contrived”, but part of a desperate attempt to stall the inquiry.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, parliamentary legal services advisor Fatima Ebrahim provided a legal opinion to members of the Section 194 Inquiry on the removal application.
Ebrahim said the committee’s task in terms of the Constitution is to make a finding on whether Mkhwebane misconducted herself or was incompetent. She is the subject of the inquiry. Ebrahim said the committee’s decisions must be procedurally fair and rational.
She said the committee directed the evidence leaders to fight the legal fees – Dali Mpofu’s main complaint against the evidence leaders. She adds that Parliament has an oversight role in the expenditure of public funds.
Ebrahim added that removing the evidence leaders because an external third party is aggrieved, is “somewhat problematic”.
She also stressed that Bawa and Mayosi were not prosecutors, saying they were tasked to assist the committee to gather and present evidence relevant to its investigation.
On Monday, Mkhwebane’s first witness was expected to testify, but her legal representative, Mpofu made oral arguments about the removal application before the committee.
The application for the evidence leaders in the Section 194 Inquiry on suspended Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office to be removed has since been rejected.
Following a tea break, Section 194 inquiry chairperson, Qubudile Dyantyi said members of the committee, excluding Maotwe and Holomisa, supported the dismissal of Mkhwebane’s application.
The chair also said Mkhwebane must be the first witness when the committee reconvenes in January.
According to Parliament’s draft programme, the Section 194 Inquiry aims to complete its work by March 2023.
Livestream Video Below:
Video Courtesy of Parliament.