Parliament rebukes Mkhwebane for impugning the dignity of 2 of its legal advisors
On Tuesday, EFF MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane lashed out at members of the judiciary, whom she identified as being of Indian heritage, after an appeal related to her impeachment inquiry was struck from the roll in the SCA.
FILE: Former Economic Freedom Fighters member of Parliament and former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on 20 October 2023. Picture: Supplied/@ParliamentofRSA/X
CAPE TOWN - Parliament has rebuked Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane for impugning the dignity of two of its legal advisors.
It said there was no merit to Mkhwebane's attack on them, both of whom have served the institution with diligence and integrity over the years.
On Tuesday, Mkhwebane lashed out at members of the judiciary, whom she identified as being of Indian heritage, after an appeal related to her impeachment inquiry was struck from the roll in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
In a post on X, former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane attributed her legal woes in the country’s courts to proceedings predominantly involving judges and lawyers of Indian descent.
This after Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Visvanathan Ponnan slammed her and her legal team for lodging an application that he said was "dead on arrival".
Mkhwebane responded by criticising Parliament’s chief legal advisor, Zuraya Adhikarie, another parliamentary legal advisor, Fatima Ebrahim, and Cape Bar advocate, Nazreen Bawa, who was the evidence leader in her impeachment inquiry.
Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said that Mkhwebane's utterances against them were unbecoming of a member of Parliament.
"The unwarranted attack on these officials and particularly the racial slurs used by Advocate Mkhwebane are unfortunate, particularly in a democratic society like ours, where human dignity ought to be protected and respected."
Parliament said that Mkhwebane correctly approached the court over her unhappiness with her impeachment inquiry, but the case has now been dismissed.
Mkhwebane had sought to overturn a High Court ruling that dismissed her application to have the chairperson of her inquiry, former African National Congress (ANC) MP Richard Dyantyi, and Democratic Alliance (DA) MP, Kevin Mileham, recuse themselves from proceedings.
The SCA found on Tuesday that there was no point in making judicial findings about the parliamentary inquiry since it was no longer constitutionally possible for Mkhwebane to be reinstated in the position.
In her X post, Mkhwebane said that Judge Ponnan had been arrogant and dismissive during court proceedings in August, underscoring the challenges and biases she's faced, primarily by those of Indian heritage.