Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane Told to Pay Rent for Lux Apartment in Pretoria Estate

• Suspended Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane will have to start paying her rent to live at the Bryntirion ministerial estate
• The Office of the Public Protector said it has no intention to continue paying Mkhwebane’s R11 000 rent which taxpayers funded
• The office released a statement saying the suspended public protector was not being evicted from the premises but would have to foot the bill

PRETORIA - Suspended Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane will have to personally finance her living arrangements at the Bryntirion ministerial estate.

The Office of the Public Protector said it has no intention to continue paying Mkhwebane’s rent. The institution said it intended to terminate the lease agreement on Monday, 31 October.

It added that it was not obligated to pay for Mkhwebane’s accommodation. The office released a statement claiming that Mkhwebane was not being evicted from the premises.

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The suspended public protector will have to pay the rent if she continues residing on the property.

According to News24, the office initially was requested to pay R54 000 a month in 2017. However, in 2021 she moved into a flat on the estate that cost R11 000 to rent.

Mkhwebane did not oppose the termination of her lease and said she reserves all her rights in the matter. The accommodation was funded with taxpayer money, TimesLIVE reported.

Mzansi reacts to the rent drama:

@therawongst said:

“If the perks due to the public protector (Mkhwebane) do not allow for accommodation, why did she have her rent paid by the PPSA? If she breached her handbook, she must be made to pay back every cent she unduly benefited. What’s with public officials’ entitlement?”

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@HopalongTc commented:

“SARS must investigate this. Living free at our expense is a taxable benefit.”

@newhorizanman added:

“Damn right. She ain’t working!”

Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s office spent over R147m in legal fees, inquiry hears

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported that more than R147 million was spent by the Public Protector’s office on legal fees since 2016. The details were disclosed during suspended Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s parliamentary inquiry into her fitness to hold office.

The senior manager of legal services in the office, Neels van der Merwe, gave testimony and said in the 2016/2017 period the legal fees paid amounted to R6.4 million of the R13 million that was set aside. However, in 2019/2020 the legal costs increased dramatically with an over-expenditure of more than R48 million.

Van der Merwe said the growing litigation costs meant that other costs had been cut. He said investigators were restricted from physically conducting inspections and could not interview witnesses in person.

Source: Briefly News