Sicelo Zwane@ZwaneOmkhulu
We are gonna have to do this a million times but do it we shall:
Busisiwe Mkhwebane was impeached by the South African National Assembly primarily for misconduct and incompetence during her tenure as Public Protector.
The impeachment process followed a Section 194 parliamentary inquiry, which found that she had:
Repeatedly violated the Constitution.
Conducted investigations improperly.
Acted in bad faith in several high-profile matters.
Failed to understand and apply the law correctly.
Misused her office in ways that courts repeatedly criticised.
A major factor was the extraordinarily high number of adverse court judgments against her. South African courts — including the Constitutional Court — on multiple occasions found her conduct to be irrational, unlawful, biased, or procedurally unfair.
Some of the key matters cited included:
The matter, where the Constitutional Court personally ordered costs against her for acting in bad faith.
Her investigation into the so-called “rogue unit” at SARS.
Findings relating to the CR17 campaign investigation involving Cyril Ramaphosa.
Failures in procedural fairness and evidence handling across several investigations.
Importantly, she was not impeached because of Phala Phala or because she investigated Ramaphosa. The impeachment inquiry had already been underway long before the Phala Phala controversy emerged.
Parliament voted in September 2023 to remove her from office after the inquiry concluded that she was unfit to hold office under Section 194 of the Constitution.