By Amy Musgrave
Pressure is mounting on Parliament to act against impeached public protector and EFF MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane following her racial slurs, with the DA now saying it will refer her to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee for violation of the Code of Ethics for members.
The FF Plus has already requested National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza to report Mkhwebane to the Powers and Privileges of Parliament Committee.
And, the judiciary has expressed “disappointment and disapproval” over Mkhwebane’s racial comments directed at a Supreme Court of Appeal judge.
DA chief whip George Michalakis said on Saturday that the code of conduct required MPs to maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of Parliament, and thereby engender the respect and confidence that society needed to have in Parliament as a representative institution.
He said it furthered bared members from using social media to bring Parliament into disrepute and use these platforms to promote hate speech.
“The DA will submit an affidavit to the Registrar of Parliament requesting the Ethics Committee, once constituted, to investigate this matter to make a ruling and impose an appropriate sanction on Mkhwebane,” the chief whip said in a statement.
This week Mkhwebane accused individuals of “predominantly Indian descent” of “persecuting” her, including certain judicial officers.
While Mkhwebane has since apologised, political parties believe that this is not enough.
“The DA will not allow such remarks attacking the dignity of a particular race group, the individuals involved and Parliament to go unchecked,” said Michalakis.
“In the meantime, we urge Mkhwebane to do introspection and consider whether her continuous failure to convince the courts of the merits of her legal action is not perhaps based in the fact that her tenure as Public Protector was riddled with unethical behaviour and gross misconduct that led to her impeachment by the National Assembly.”
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Appeal struck from the roll Mkhwebane’s appeal against the Western Cape High Court’s dismissal of her application to remove the chairperson of the Section 194 Committee that handled her impeachment, and a DA MP who served on that committee.
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