The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) has condemned “attacks” on public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane by former public protector Thuli Madonsela.
In a statement on Monday, Meokgo Matuba, the secretary general of the ANCWL, said that comments Madonsela made to the Sunday Independent were a “direct attack” on the Parliament ad hoc committee who recommended Mkhwebane for the position.
“South Africa has a public protector who was appointed through transparent, fair process and her name is advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane,” Matuba said.
“By casting aspersions about the appointment of the public protector, advocate Madonsela is not only undermining the integrity of Parliament, the state president and advocate Mkhwebane but also the intelligence of South Africans who watched the transparent and fair live interviews of the candidates who contested for public protector position,” she added.
In her interview, Madonsela questioned how Mkhwebane was appointed public protector, saying she has a “suspicion” about the process. She also said that Mkhwebane had decided on a chief of staff for the public protector’s office before she had been appointed as public protector.
“When Mkhwebane started acting capriciously towards me and staff members that had worked closely with me, a former member of the public protector office who had left long before she (Mkhwebane) came told me that during my farewell event at Gallagher Estate (in Midrand), a certain staff member was flashing a text message in her cellphone to other staff members,” Madonsela said.
“The message from Mkhwebane to (the staff member) allegedly said: ‘You’re my future chief of staff.’”
Madonsela has also suggested that Zuma and the State Security Agency (SSA) were involved in the process to make Mkhwebane public protector.
But Mkhwebane has denied the allegations.
Matuba meanwhile has said that ANCWL is happy with Mkhwebane’s first 100 days in office, complimenting the public protector for her work on the public protector’s draft findings into the CIEX report on the Absa bailout by the apartheid government and her commitment to curbing leaks from the public protector’s office. Madonsela had investigated the CIEX report but had not signed off on the public protector’s draft report before she left office.
Matuba has urged Madonsela to accept her term in office is complete and called on its supported to be fair in their assessment of Mkhwebane.
“Advocate Thuli Madonsela must accept that her term as a public protector came to an end after a 7-year term and she must focus on her new role at University of Stellenbosch under the Chancellorship of Johan Rupert,” Matuba said
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