Judge Questions if Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s Lawyer Accused Chief Justice Raymond Zondo of Lying in Court
- A Western Cape judge asked Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's lawyer if she was accusing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo of lying
- The high court is hearing the Mkhwebane's application to prevent the Parliament Committee from impeaching her
- Mkhwebane's lawyer, advocate Dali Mpofu said the court is dealing with the biggest scandal it has ever seen
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JOHANNESBURG - Judge Nathan Erasmus who is presiding over Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's matter at the Western Cape high court questioned if her lawyer was accusing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo of lying.
The court is hearing the Public Protector’s application for an interdict that will prohibit the Parliament Committee from continuing with her impeachment and prevent President Cyril Ramaphosa from suspending her.
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Judge Erasmus’ comments came after Mkhwebane's lawyer, advocate Dali Mpofu said an SMS sent by Legal Analyst Ismail Abramjee to Parliament's counsel, advocate Andrew Breitenbach, was the biggest scandal in the courts.
The SMS in question was sent in April and Abramjee apparently predicted that Mkhwebane's initial application to the Constitutional Court for a reversal of its decision would not be heard, News24 reported.
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Abramjee said he was sharing confidential information at the time. A week after the SMS emerged the Constitutional Court declared that it would not hear the application.
Mpofu said when Zondo was discussing the matter at Constitutional Court he did not give a clear answer about why a decision was not taken. Mpofu denied calling Zondo a liar.
According to IOL, Mkhwebane's lawyer said Ramaphosa and Zondo were victimising her and that she was just trying to do her job.
President Cyril Ramaphosa gives Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane 10 days to try and save her job
In a related matter, Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering suspending Public Protector Busisiwe Mkwebane. However, before doing so, Ramaphosa is giving her an opportunity to fight for her job.
On Thursday, 17 March, Mkwebane confirmed the news reports that the president had sent her a letter asking her to state reasons why she should not be suspended from her position.
The statement issued by Mkwebane's team said Ramaphosa is making the consideration of suspending the public protector because of a letter he received from the Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Mapisa-Nqakula wants Mkwebane's impeachment process to begin, reports TimesLIVE.
Source: Briefly News
