ConCourt upholds Busisiwe Mkhwebane suspension
The Constitutional Court has upheld the suspension of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
It found President Cyril Ramaphosa acted rationally when deciding to suspend Mkhwebane to protect the office and allow her to focus on the inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
In a unanimous judgment penned by Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, the apex court said the mere fact that Mkhwebane was investigating Ramaphosa on the Phala Phala matter wasn't enough to conclude there was a conflict of interest.
"The president did not suspend the Public Protector to prejudice her,” Maya said on Thursday.
“The suspension is only a precautionary one and does not harm her as she remains on full pay and has time properly attend to her defence in the Section 194 inquiry and suffers not reputation harm."
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The judgment sets aside the Western Cape High Court's ruling last September that Mkwebane's suspension was invalid.
The President and the DA appealed the decision.
Justice Maya said the apex court found no evidence that Ramaphosa sought to influence the outcome of Mkhwebane's Phala Phala investigation.
"This court finds that the evidence does not show that the president acted in a manner which exposed him in the investigation involving a risk to a conflict between his official responsibilities and private interests as has been pointed out.
"The president stood to gain nothing from suspending the public protector because the acting public protector continued with the investigation diligently, according to her undisputed affidavit."
