Brett Herron, the GOOD MP who nominated Richard Calland to serve on the independent panel that will assess whether there is prima facie evidence President Cyril Ramaphosa has contravened the law and should face impeachment proceedings, has hit back at parties who object to Calland’s inclusion.
Speaking to TimesLIVE on Thursday, Herron said it was scandalous to suggest a legal professional would approach such a task with a predetermined outcome.
“I am surprised at this reaction. I think it’s reckless and scandalous that parties can accuse someone of bias, especially a legal professional,” he said.
Legal professionals were trained to approach a case with impartiality and it was undermining to direct such at a professor of public law who has worked for nearly three decades on strengthening SA’s democratic institutions and helping the country develop those institutions for exactly this purpose.
“I think it is scandalous to accuse someone of bias because as a political commentator, he has written one or two articles that appear to be favourable to the president. If you want to make an assessment, then look at all of his writings, including the writings where he is critical of the ANC and of the president,” said Herron.
“You can’t just assume bias. He is trained as a legal professional and he trained future lawyers. The assumption that he would not approach an important constitutional task, a task that he had been training future lawyers on ... this is the opportunity to use that expertise.
“It’s scandalous, I’m shocked.”
In a letter to speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, nominating Calland, GOOD said Calland meets the requirements of rule 129E (of the National Assembly rules) and that for the past 25 years he had been working in the fields of democratic governance and sustainable development in SA and beyond.
“Based at UCT, where he is associate professor in public law, he established and then led its Democratic Governance & Rights Unit from 2007 to 2016, focusing on judicial appointments, training and governance.
“From 1995 to 2011, he headed the Political Information & Monitoring Service and then the Economic Governance programme at Idasa, which was at that time Africa's leading democracy Institute.
“He holds an LLM from the University of Cape Town, a diploma in world politics from the London School of Economics and a BA (Hons) Law from the University of Durham,” wrote Herron.
The DA and the EFF are among those who have objected to Calland’s inclusion.
The DA said it was not convinced of his objectivity and independence, and that he is a respected academic in the legal fraternity “but is also a political commentator who routinely plays into the political fray; publicly offering his political views especially as it pertains to the president”.
“Professor Calland has, through his political commentary and social media pronouncements, displayed a consistent bias towards the president which makes him unsuitable for this role given that this panel must be free from any hint of bias,” said DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube.
The EFF described his inclusion on the panel as appalling, saying he was “an unrepentant advocate and admirer of Ramaphosa”.
“He has on multiple occasions taken platform on broadcast, print and social media to laud Cyril Ramaphosa for factional activity within the ANC, and even going to the extent of giving him advice on policy, and how to approach governance at the expense of his detractors and political opponents,” said the party in a statement.
It said it was going to consult with other political parties represented in parliament to force Mapisa-Nqakula to reverse the appointment of the panel.
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