Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s Suspension Set Aside by High Court

• Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane received some form of good news during her Section 194 Inquiry
• The Western Cape High Court has ruled that President Ramaphosa's decision to suspend Mkhwebane was invalid
• Mkhwebane will have to wait for the Constitutional Court to confirm the order before she sees any real change in her situation

CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape High Court has ruled that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's suspension at the hand of President Cyril Ramaphosa was invalid.

Though this appears to be a win for Mkhwebane, the ruling will not immediately affect her suspension.

According to News24, section 172(2)(a) of the constitution provides for the High Court to make an order the constitutionally of the President's conduct. Still, the order will only be binding if the Constitutional Court confirms it.

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Mkhwebane is currently undergoing a Section 194 Inquiry into her fitness to hold the office of the Public Protector. Mkhwebanes lawyer Dali Mpofu informed the committee about the high court order on Friday, 9 September.

Mpofu said:

"We’ve just received the judgment from the western cape high court that the suspension of the public protector has been set aside. So we just want to deal with that logistically for a few minutes because it will disturb us and we won’t be able to pay attention,”

Former CEO Nthoriseng Motsiti, who spoke about the financial issues at the Public Protector's office, continued to testify before the committee, EWN reports.

South Africans react to the Western Cape High Courts ruling

South Africans weighed in on the WC High Court ruling on social media.

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Here are some comments:

@simoolman asked:

"What is the legal basis of the WC High Court ruling?"

@manhlamza said:

"I thought yall said Mpofu is misleading the PP and is serving legal hogwash"

@Official_Tebele

"Go tlaba busy"

Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane runs up R147 million legal bill

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported that Busisiwe Mkhwebane has racked up an impressive R147 million legal bill since she came into office in 2016.

The amount was revealed at the suspended Public Protectors impeachment inquiry in Parliament on Thursday, 8 September.

According to the Daily Maverick, the Section 194 impeachment inquiry into Busisiwe Mkhwebanes's fitness to hold office resumed after an almost two-week break on Thursday with a summary of her office's legal expenses.

Source: Briefly News