'She must resign': John Steenhuisen on Busisiwe Mkhwebane's 'tainted' tenure

DA interim leader John Steenhuisen hopes the latest court ruling will lead to “tainted” and “deeply compromised” public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane being removed from office.

On Wednesday, the Gauteng high court ruled in favour of President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying Mkhwebane's report, which found the president misled parliament regarding a R500,000 donation made to his CR17 campaign, was unlawful and must be set aside.

The donation was made by African Global Operations (formerly Bosasa) CEO Gavin Watson.

Steenhuisen said the opposition stood by its view that Mkhwebane's appointment position was political and that she was part of “the pro-Zuma ANC faction”.

“Successive court rulings against her, as well as photos of such known state capture agents as Mosebenzi Zwane and Bongani Bongo at her 50th birthday party, support the DA's long-held view that Mkhwebane is not fit for office and that hers was a state capture deployment all along,” he said in a statement issued by the DA on Tuesday.

He further called on Mkhwebane to resign.

Steenhuisen added that Mkhwebane's reputation meant her future findings would be questioned and the opposition had tabled a motion to have a panel investigate her fitness to hold office.