‘You didn’t protect us from Twitter insults,’ Mpofu tells impeachment chair as he asks for secret ballot vote

Suspended public protector (PP) advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane and her legal team will push for a “secret ballot” when the National Assembly votes on whether to impeach her.

On Tuesday her advocate Dali Mpofu told the section 194 committee considering her fitness to hold office this would be necessary because his client needed “protection from the 'voting cattle syndrome' of instinctive crowd behaviour” to ensure people voted with their consciences.

The inquiry began four months ago and evidence leaders have called 18 witnesses. It is now Mkhwebane’s turn to call her witnesses in defence of the four charges against her. 

Mpofu, who has brought six applications in an attempt to scupper proceedings, said in his opening address the past four months had been “quite an ordeal”,  including what he alleged were “countless constitutional violations” against his client.

He took exception to committee chair Qubudile Dyantyi’s admonishments about attacks on parliamentary staff.

“You have had the temerity to say members should not attack the legal staff if they don’t like the message, but we get attacked here left, right and centre,” said Mpofu.

“We have been insulted on Twitter and have appealed to you to protect us. Will you protect us and the PP? Must we be insulted? Or are you the chair for the evidence leaders and the parliamentary staff?

“Be that as it may, we are here and we will see this through. We are more than ready and keen to see the finality of this and to see the public protector giving her side of the story.”

He said most of the complaints focused on “HR issues” and had been raised by disgruntled employees. “It is a mixed bag — management of deadlines and backlogs, allegations of harassment, victimisation and intimidation, impressions of her as a leader.”

Mpofu said he would call an expert witness to testify about “legal concepts”, including the duty of the committee and the chair.

That same witness would speak about the status of court judgments against Mkhwebane, and whether they were binding or she was entitled to bring evidence to refute “whatever prima facie evidence might be contained in them”.

Mkhwebane is expected to call her first witness, South African Roadies Association head  Freddie Nyathela, in whose favour Mkhwebane found in a case against the National Arts Council, later on Tuesday. 

On Monday Mpofu said there was agreement that the process of subpoenaing “unwilling” witnesses — public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, former public protector Thuli Madonsela, former DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone, who kickstarted the impeachment process through a motion, and acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka — would start on December 6 and be finalised during the committee’s December break.

The committee will sit until December 5, with the exception of Friday, before adjourning until January next year.

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