PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – MARCH 28: RETORIA – Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, during a media briefing to release various investigation reports at her office in Pretoria on Thursday, 28 March 2019. (Photo by Gallo Images / Phill Magakoe)
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – MARCH 28: RETORIA – Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, during a media briefing to release various investigation reports at her office in Pretoria on Thursday, 28 March 2019. (Photo by Gallo Images / Phill Magakoe)
To say Busisiwe Mkhwebane is “under fire” would be putting it mildly: The Public Protector is at war with some of the biggest names and institutions in South Africa, and her woes have been compounded on Wednesday. Hawks have confirmed they are now investigating the 49-year-old.
It caps a remarkable eight weeks for the Public Protector, who has experienced a fierce backlash since revealing remedial action must be taken against both Pravin Gordhan and Cyril Ramaphosa. However, they aren’t the only two hornet nests she’s been kicking – the highest crime authority in the land are now circling Mkhwebane.
Five things to know about Hawks vs Busisiwe Mkhwebane:
Why are the Hawks getting involved?
On Monday, Paul Hoffman of Accountability Now opened a case up against the Public Protector at Ocean View Police Station. The long-serving advocate wants Mkhwebane taken to task for her supposed “dishonesty” in ConCourt and slammed her for “misrepresenting the facts” in the Bankorp case. It’s an allegation the Hawks are taking seriously.
Charges laid against the Public Protector
Busisiwe Mkhwebane has had fraud charges filed against her. However, it’s understood that even more legal action could be taken against the pubic official. Both Hoffman and the DA are trying to form a case of perjury, relating to both Bankorp and the Estina Dairy Farm scandal.
Accountability Now and Busisiwe Mkhwebane
The Legal Practice Council confirmed in July that it had received a request for Public Protector Busiswe Mkhwebane to be struck off the roll of advocates. Accountability Now submitted the request, claiming that it was “intolerable” for someone like her to be accused of perjury. Hoffman ramped up their campaign earlier this week.
So how many legal cases is Busisiwe Mhwebane now involved in?
She’s seen more courts than Serena Williams in the past couple of months, with her current legal cases including:
- A showdown with Cyril Ramaphosa over the decision to force remedial action against Pravin Gordhan.
- A court date to discuss the funding of President Ramaphosa’s CR17 leadership campaign.
- A damning judgement from ConCourt over her management of the Bankorp situation.
- Fraud charges and an application to strike her off the role of advocates from Accountability Now.
- A review of her findings in the Estina Dairy Farm project
- FNB is also apparently investigating her for violating exchange control regulations for moving money between countries.
- And, she’s likely to face some form of Parliamentary rebuttal in September – with a possible no-confidence vote.
What will happen next
Hawks General Seswantsho Lebeya confirmed his office is yet to review the documents, as they are on their way to the firm’s headquarters. However, should the charges be withheld, Busisiwe Mkhwebane could be on her way back to court yet again, to complete her winter of discontent.
