Cape Town - Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said on Tuesday she did not understand why her misapplication of law constituted misconduct or incompetence.
Mkhwebane questioned why many judges were not impeached for making an error when applying law in their judgment.
She made the statement when her legal counsel advocate Dali Mpofu was leading her evidence in the inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
Mpofu said there was a whole deal made of the fact that in the CR17-Bosasa report she quoted a wrong law when she identified money laundering in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign funding.
Mkhwebane said it was so unfortunate that former chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga had observed “my mistakes are magnified”.
She said the appeal system allowed findings of lower courts to be overturned by higher courts
“That is based on an error of law or fact. It is not clear why I am charged for misapplying law when our system places necessary mechanisms to correct judgments or decisions when there has been misapplication of the law.”
She questioned why misapplication of law constituted an act of misconduct or incompetence on her part.
“You find a lot of judges, they err. Are they facing an impeachment, not at all,” she said.
“I said there is prima facie, not guilty, NPA that falls within your mandate, can you investigate.
“It was a mistake to mention that legislation but there is suspicion of money laundering,” Mkhwebane said.
Asked if she had directed the NPA on how to investigate the allegations of the money laundering against Ramaphosa, the public protector said the way the remedial action was crafted, it was clear the matter of money laundering did not fall within her mandate and referred the matter to a relevant authority.
“That is what I purely did, referring the matter to the NPA, not encroaching on their prosecutorial independence.
“If they feel, public protector, we are not to prosecute, that is the end of the matter. I was not at all saying to them, you must do this and how you must do it.
“If they feel there is no crime that is their independent decision,” Mkhwebane said.
Mkhwebane also denied that she had changed the code of ethics for members of the executive to suit her findings in the CR17-Bosasa report.
The court had found that she changed the wording in the code when her report was reviewed and set aside.
“My heart bleeds when I read those paragraphs,” she said about the court judgment that made an adverse finding against her.
“I never changed the code. I was accused wrongfully.”
Mkhwebane said she had referred to 2007 code but she was made to appear as the “evil person” seeking to find anything no matter what happened.
She said Ramaphosa deliberately misled the National Assembly and her finding was based on facts that were before Public Protector South Africa.
“How evil am I to change the code to suit my facts? I said last week I don’t have anything against the president. I am blamed for changing the code, which is not true.”
Mkhwebane told the inquiry that she had used the same code used by her predecessor when compiling her report.
“I am labelled this person fighting the president and even invent laws to find that President Cyril Ramaphosa violated my law.
“It is so painful to be subjected to this and sit here. I was doing my work with honesty and credibility, and not being behind any person,” Mkhwebane said.
Cape Times