Cape Town - The inquiry into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office on Thursday held a two-hour in camera session to discuss whether questions about an unproven sexual harassment allegation against former executive manager at the PPSA Lufuno Ndou should be allowed.
When they emerged from their deliberations, committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi would only say they had discussed the issue of balancing the committee’s need for transparency and taking witnesses’ rights into consideration. They then said the hearings could proceed.
The sexual harassment issue had been raised by the inquiry’s evidence leader, advocate Nazreen Bawa SC, after she finished taking Ndou through his testimony on the issue of the Vrede Dairy investigation report.
Bawa said during Wednesday’s testimony by PPSA acting corporate services head Gumbi Tyelela it emerged that Ndou had faced a sexual harassment charge while he was working at the PPSA.
Tyelela, who is also in charge of human resources at the PPSA, testified that Ndou had been served with the charges after he had already tendered his resignation in November 2018.
Tyelela said there was no process followed at the time, as Ndou had tendered a medical certificate when the first hearing of the disciplinary process was meant to happen and he subsequently left the job.
Tyelela said that Ndou had initially been exonerated, but that based on further investigation, a decision was taken and the matter proceeded.
Bawa said she was raising it as she was aware that the public protector’s legal team had obtained a copy of the human resources file from the PPSA containing the accusation.
She said that the issues and the substance relating to the charge were highly prejudicial, an invasion of Ndou’s privacy and immaterial to the committee’s work.
She said while she was not suggesting that there should be no questions on the matter, she just wanted to request that if there had to be any questions to be asked around the issue, that they be done in camera.
At this point Dyantyi excused everyone except MPs from the committee so that they could get advice on the issue from Parliament’s legal team.
When advocate Dali Mpofu SC began his cross-examination, he said he would be brief and would only deal with issues concerning Ndou’s credibility, while endeavouring to protect his rights as much as possible.
Ndou, who appeared as the inquiry’s 11th witness, testified that the practice at the PPSA had been for provisional investigation reports to be circulated to the implicated parties to allow them to make representations.
However, he said in several instances the provisional reports were leaked to the media, despite having a confidentiality embargo and these leaks had the potential to adversely impact the investigations.
He also said that he had received a LinkedIn invitation from Mkhwebane in April this year, which he had accepted, even though they had not spoken since he resigned from the PPSA.