<\/p>\n
Cape Town \u2013 Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has threatened to go to court should Section 194 Inquiry chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi not recuse himself when she makes her fresh bid for his removal from the inquiry.<\/p>\n
Mkhwebane made the threat on Wednesday after she was slapped, two days earlier, with hundreds of questions from the inquiry\u2019s evidence leaders and MPs on the evidence that has been led in the inquiry.<\/p>\n
The inquiry decided last month to send her written questions to respond to orally, or in writing, and that she would be allowed to make further representations.<\/p>\n
She has until July 6 to respond, but has not yet indicated whether she will respond in writing, or orally.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Mkhwebane said the alleged \u201cdeadlines\u201d emanated from the \u201cillegally imposed\u201d new procedure unilaterally enforced by the committee when she appeared without legal representation on June 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven then I told the committee that I rejected the proposed new procedure. It is unheard of to conduct a fact-finding or disciplinary enquiry without oral evidence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo do so after 25 witnesses, all of which gave oral evidence in public, makes a mockery of a process, which is meant to be fair and reasonable. These deadlines, therefore, have no legal force and effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mkhwebane also said it was irrational to expect her to respond to a crooked procedure and also deal with so many questions within a short space of time when her senior counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu, has yet to be briefed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am expected single-handedly to produce a document longer than the Holy Bible in the space of about one week. This is sheer absurdity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Public Protector also said her \u201creappointed\u201d attorneys of record, Chaane Attorneys, had asked to be given some time to familiarise themselves with the matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe request of my attorneys to be given time is reasonable. They cannot be expected to instruct or brief my counsel in a situation where they themselves are totally in the dark about the contents of the record, which is more than 60 000 pages long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mkhwebane added that she rejected the obligation placed on her to pay legal fees that may run into millions, should the allocated R4 million in additional legal fees be exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat issue has not been resolved, but the committee simply went to impose its deadlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody is prepared to explain how the amount was determined,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mkhwebane indicated that she wuld request her legal representative to accept limited brief to bring an urgent application for the recusal of Dyantyi and get the committee to deal with involvement of a member or members in the bribery allegations implicating Dyantyi, ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina and late ANC MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Mr Dyantyi predictably refuses to recuse himself as before, the matter will be urgently escalated to court.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreviously, the court abdicated its responsibility to deal with the recusal issue and incorrectly held that that the issue must be raised at the end of the enquiry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mkhwebane said she had lodged an appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal on Wednesday following the Western Cape High Court judgment which dismissed her application, after she was granted leave to appeal.<\/p>\n
She also said even in the unlikely event that Dyantyi and Majodina were cleared of the bribery allegations, the evidence of Joemat-Pettersson soliciting a bribe from her husband, David Skosana, was sufficient ground to discontinue the inquiry.<\/p>\n
Cape Times<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cape Town \u2013 Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has threatened to go to court should Section 194 Inquiry chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi not recuse himself when she makes her fresh bid for his removal from the inquiry. Mkhwebane made the threat on Wednesday after she was slapped, two days earlier, with hundreds of questions from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[219,11870,536,11393,1082,11843,7439,4191,3056],"class_list":["post-185438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-action","tag-chairperson","tag-court","tag-inquiry","tag-mkhwebane","tag-recuse","tag-refuse","tag-section","tag-threatens"],"yoast_head":"\n