Cape Town - This battle is the Lord’s, said now suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane minutes after under-fire President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended her on Thursday.
“Do not be deflected #glencore and #farmgate aluta continua,” said Mkhwebane in a tweet.
Oksalayo this battle is the Lord’s. Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.
— Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane (@AdvBMkhwebane) June 9, 2022
With a cloud still hanging over him regarding the US dollars said to have been concealed on his farm, Ramaphosa suspended Mkhwebane with immediate effect on Thursday.
In a statement, his office said: “President Cyril Ramaphosa has, in accordance with section 194 (3)(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, decided to suspend Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane from the office of the Public Protector effective 9 June 2022.
“Section 194(3) (a) of the Constitution provides that the President may suspend the Public Protector (or any member of a Chapter 9 institution) ‘at any time after the start of proceedings by a committee of the National Assembly for [their] removal’.
Mkhwebane will remain suspended until the Section 194 process in the National Assembly has been completed.”
According to the statement, Ramaphosa fulfilled his obligation to provide Mkhwebane with “a fair hearing by affording her sufficient time and opportunity to make submissions”.
“In considering each element of the Public Protector’s submissions carefully, the President has taken into account the nature of the Public Protector’s office and his own Constitutional obligations. The absence of Advocate Mkhwebane from office will therefore not impede the progress of any investigations that are pending or under way.”
The suspension comes a day after Mkhwebane confirmed receipt of a complaint lodged in terms of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act No 82 of 1998 (EMEA) against Ramaphosa for allegedly breaching the Executive Code of Ethics.
Mkhwebane said: “The complaint, which relates to President Ramaphosa’s alleged conduct in respect of allegations of criminal activities at one of his properties, was received last Friday from Mr Vuyo Zungula, MP, President of the African Transformation Movement (ATM). The ATM is a political party represented in Parliament.
“Due to the silence of the EMEA when it comes to the appropriate recipient of the report in case the complaint is against the President, the Public Protector has previously had to improvise and send it to the Speaker of the National Assembly. The investigation concerning Mr Zungula’s complaint has commenced, with allegations letters already written to sources of information, including President Ramaphosa.”
Ramaphosa is under pressure to disclose the full details of the alleged robbery on his farm where millions in foreign currency were allegedly stolen. The incident. which he claimed had only been reported to the head of his security and not the police, has seen him coming under heavy criticism from opposition MPs and some political analysts.
It still remains unclear if the foreign currency was declared to the South African Revenue Service and the Reserve Bank.
Cape Times