Busted: Mkhwebane in new crisis – PP to face ‘perjury’ charges in January

Busisiwe Mkhwebane will be hauled to court next month, to face three separate counts of perjury. The news has been confirmed by both the NPA and SAPS on Wednesday morning, as the beleaguered Public Protector faces more question marks over her competency to hold one of the highest offices in the land.

Busisiwe Mkhwebane facing perjury charges

In the past few years, Mkhwebane has found herself locked in a number of high-profile legal disputes. In that time, she has lost cases against Cyril Ramaphosa, Pravin Gordhan, and the SA government as a collective. Some of the evidence produced by the PP has been branded ‘fraudulent’ by her critics, and the judiciary now believes there’s a case to answer.

“The NPA wishes to confirm that the DPP Paul Hoffman indeed took a decision to prosecute [The Public Protector] after he carefully assessed the evidence presented to him by the Hawks, following a complaint laid by the lobby group Accountability Now. This is in line with the prosecution policy and the law.”

NPA statement

Pleas to suspend Public Protector

Accountability Now will be calling for the immediate suspension of Busisiwe Mkhwebane, pending the outcome of January’s courtroom showdown. After replacing Thuli Madonsela as the Public Protector four years ago, the office-bearer has presided over a term mired in controversy. The less said about her Bankorp-CIEX statements, the better.

After being served with summons earlier in the week, the 50-year-old now faces the biggest fight of her political career. Unfortunately for Mkhwebane, the formbook suggests it’ll be an uphill battle for her to survive…

“The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation received a summons for the Head of an institution established in terms of Chapter 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa on Tuesday 15 December 2020.”

“The incumbent was served with the summons and is set to appear in Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday 21 January 2021. The summons contains three counts of perjury, and the DPCI will not engage any further on this matter until such time that the incumbent appears in court.”

SAPS statement

#sapsHQ The Head of an institution established in terms of Chapter 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was served with summons and is set to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s court on 21 January 2021. MLhttps://t.co/W2XvYwMPW8 pic.twitter.com/9ixF9aOCGO

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) December 16, 2020