As the impeachment inquiry into the suspended public fitness of Busisiwe Mkhwebane continued yesterday, the personal charges against him still loomed as a major issue.
Mkhwebane’s senior counsel, Dali Mpofu, reiterated that the court had burdened him with personal costs.
‘No one protects Mkhwebane’
He said that no one is protecting the public protector. Mkhwebane’s witness, her Zambian spouse Caroline Zulu-Sokoni, agreed that the order for personal charges had a “chilling effect” on the investigations, saying it also eroded respect for the office.
“Nobody respects the office anymore,” said Zulu-Sokoni, who was cross-examined by lead evidence lawyer Nazreen Bawa.
He is the South African regional coordinator of the African Association of Ombudsman and Mediators, the African president of the International Ombudsman Institute and is the current treasurer.
Zulu-Sokoni testified that parliament should protect Mkhwebane from suspension and not use court rulings against him.
READ MORE: WATCH LIVE: ConCourt hears appeal application on Mkhwebane’s suspension
It is unfair for the court to impose costs
He also noted that the court was unfair in imposing a personal costs order on Mkhwebane, who is responsible for the entire office.
“I do not think that the executive arm of the government should be allowed to return to the ombudsman using the court system because this is a cost that must be borne by the respondent institution and then put on the public protector personally,” he said.
Bawa emphasized that the South African constitution requires a higher standard for removing judges, requiring misconduct and gross incompetence, while the grounds for the public protector are misconduct and incompetence. Zulu-Sokoni said there were other ways to punish Mkhwebane.
“But I don’t have a problem with the judgment of the court,” he said.
READ MORE: Mkhwebane’s suspension ‘may conflict’ with international conventions