By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The head of the Public Protector’s Free State Office, Sphelo Samuel, has told the Parliament’s Section 194 Committee that it was questionable to have former MEC of Agriculture Mosebenzi Zwane attending Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s birthday while she was still investigating him.
Samuel said Mkhwebane demonstrated incompetence and inability to understand her role by socialising with Zwane.
He added that if someone comes uninvited and it creates a conflict with his work, he’ll ask that they are removed.
“I don’t want to be in their company,” said Samuel.
Advocate Dali Mpofu who represents Mkhwebane in the inquiry into the fitness of her to hold office, put it to Samuel that Zwane came as a partner of someone who was invited.
“If she invited him, it would have been worse, “said Samuel.
He reiterated that Zwane’s presence was objectionable.
“You undermine and underestimate Public Protector Mkhwebane,”Mpofu said to Samuel.
Constitutional expert Hassen Ebrahim was back to give his testimony before the Section 194 Committee on Friday afternoon.
Ebrahim said the committee is “duly constituted” to assess the charges and establish whether there was a case to be made for incompetence and misconduct.
He added that it was established to assess the charges levelled against Mkhwebane.
Ebrahim said the terms of reference for the section 194 committee are very clear: it needs to “assess” the charges to evaluate whether there is evidence of incompetence and misconduct against Mkhwebane.
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Video Courtesy of Parliament.