Cape Town - Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has complained that she feels as though she is being held hostage by Parliament’s committee for the Section 194 inquiry into her fitness to hold office which has refused her request to be excused from proceedings.
On Tuesday, Mkhwebane asked to be excused from the hearings and said she could not participate without the presence of her legal representatives, but committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi insisted she stay on.
Mkhwebane said her lawyers were preparing heads of arguments in seven matters that had been consolidated for hearing before the Constitutional Court that are due by Friday.
She indicated that her legal team would only be available from Monday, November 7.
On Tuesday, Mkhwebane said: “You refused to let me go so I stayed against my will, and I feel as if I’m just sitting here as a hostage.”
Even as she compared her situation to an abusive relationship, Dyantyi said his ruling, made on Tuesday, stood and that she would not be excused.
Meanwhile, the committee continued with evidence from PPSA senior legal manager Neels van der Merwe, who testified for less than an hour on Tuesday.
His evidence related mainly to the appointment of media communication consultants and strategy, directed at improving Mkhwebane’s public and media image.
On Wednesday, committee evidence leader senior counsel Nazreen Bawa quizzed Van der Merwe about a letter that Mkhwebane had written alleging threats to her life and the poisoning of her bodyguard.
Van der Merwe said no evidence had been found to back the allegations and that the bodyguard had fallen ill as a result of over-indulgence at a KFC branch – and not from poisoning.
Van der Merwe will be informed when he should return to be questioned by MPs, but meanwhile the committee has adjourned proceedings until Wednesday next week.
The break is to allow Mkhwebane to prepare for the cross-examination of the remaining witnesses.