South Africa Anti-Graft Advocate Warns on Her Removal

(Bloomberg) -- South African Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has warned parliament against her early removal and threatened to go to court to defend her position, Johannesburg-based Sunday Times reported.

Mkhwebane, 49, wrote a letter to the National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise accusing her of violating the constitution by acceding to a proposal by the main opposition Democratic Alliance to resume a process to probe her fitness to hold office, the Sunday Times said.

The courts have overturned several of Mkhwebane’s previous rulings and rebuked her for failing to stick to her constitutional mandate. Other critics have accused Mkhwebane, who served in the state security agency under former president Jacob Zuma, of playing politics and siding against incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa in a power struggle within the ruling party. She denies the allegations.

Last week, Mkhwebane found that Ramaphosa had violated the ethics code when he misled lawmakers about a campaign donation from a company implicated in paying bribes to senior government officials. While Ramaphosa is likely to challenge Mkhwebane’s findings in court, the dispute may embolden the president’s opponents within the African National Congress. This may make it harder for him to cement control over the party and push through economic reforms.

To contact the reporter on this story: Amogelang Mbatha in Johannesburg at ambatha@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Sam Unsted, James Amott

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