While the ANC and the DA have welcomed the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the suspension of public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the African Transformation Movement and other opposition political parties have rejected the ruling.
On Wednesday, (the) apex (court) upheld President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appeal against last year’s Western Cape High Court ruling that found his suspension of Mkhwebane was unlawful because it was tainted by bias.
The highest court in the land also upheld an appeal by the DA to the same ruling, handed down in September last year by the Western Cape High Court.
Deputy Chief Justice, Justice Mandisa Maya who handed down the judgment said the full Bench of the court found no evidence of conflict of interest by Ramaphosa, adding that her suspension was precautionary and would not benefit the president in any way as the acting public protector would still continue the investigation.
“In my view, the evidence does not show that the president acted in a manner which exposed him to a situation involving the risk of a conflict between his official responsibilities and private interests,” Justice Maya wrote in the unanimous judgment.
Mkhwebane, who was served with a letter of suspension shortly after she sent Ramaphosa 31 questions, has in the past accused Ramaphosa of having acted in a retaliatory manner.
The high court last September said the hurried nature of the suspension, had led to the conclusion that Ramaphosa’s decision may have been retaliatory and hence unlawful.
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula slammed the apex court’s ruling saying they were not surprised by this judgment.
“While we are not surprised by this judgment, given the history of unfair and bizarre judgments whenever advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane appears before the apex court, we firmly believe that this judgment does not reflect the principles of justice and impartiality.
“The African Transformation Movement remains steadfast in the view that the president’s decision to suspend advocate Mkhwebane was retaliatory and irrational in nature and, therefore, unlawful,” Zungula said.
DA spokesperson on justice, Glynnis Breytenbach, said the latest judgment confirmed the party’s view that the Western Cape High Court ruling that declared her suspension as invalid and set it aside, was subject to confirmation by the Constitutional Court.
“The Constitutional Court’s judgment, which sets aside the High Court ruling and upholds Mkhwebane’s suspension is welcomed by the DA, as this will protect the Office of the Public Protector while the Committee for Section 194 Inquiry concludes it work,” Breytenbach said.
The ANC said it welcomed the judgment, with spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri saying Ramaphosa had acted impartially in the matter.
“The ANC has actively followed these developments and feels vindicated that the president acted in an impartial and beyond-reproach manner when suspending the public protector. In these circumstances, the ANC calls upon all state organs to speedily move forward to bring stability to the office of the public protector, an important constitutional organ in our democratic architecture,” she said.