Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Monday succeeded in striking out certain allegations public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan made in an affidavit as part of their acrimonious court battle.
The high court in Pretoria struck out the allegations as part as its findings against Mkhwebane on Monday, as it set aside with costs, the public protector report released in July last year in which she found that Gordhan had established an intelligence unit at the SA Revenue Service in violation of intelligence prescripts.
The court struck out certain paragraphs contained in Gordhan's court application to set aside the report.
Mkhwebane brought the application to strike out, contending that the allegations made were vexatious, threatening and largely irrelevant - and that these allegations did not belong in court papers by a “self-respecting member of the national executive”.
Mkhwebane said Gordhan described her as corrupt, illiterate, rogue, incompetent, irrational, and unreasonable and unfit to occupy the position of public protector. The court agreed with Mkhwebane, and said these allegations should be struck out.