THE NORTH Gauteng High Court has ruled against Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and in favour of Police Minister Bheki Cele.
In August 2018, Mkhwebane found Cele had failed to provide witness protection for two whistle-blowers from KwaZulu-Natal, leaving them open to assassination attempts. She accused Cele of gross negligence, improper conduct and maladministration
Cele took the matter under judicial review, insisting the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was responsible for providing protection to witnesses.
In her scathing 2018 report, Mkhwebane said there were undue delays on the part of the police in protecting Thabiso Zulu and Les Stuta, who were living in fear for their lives.
The pair were said to have blown the whistle on multi-million-rand corruption in the Umzimkhulu Local Municipality, south of KZN.
Mkhwebane even suggested that President Cyril Ramaphosa should reprimand Cele for what she called “a lapse in judgement”, but the minister said he was now vindicated by the court judgment.
“In what is becoming a familiar sight, yet another court has declared a report by the public protector invalid. This time, the North Gauteng high court has found the public protector to have misdirected herself, in saying the South African Police Service should provide personal protection to the two witnesses. The public protector’s office needs to conduct its work thoroughly and diligently. It has always been clear that the protection of witness is the responsibility of the NPA and not that of the South African Police Service,” said Cele’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba.
“In light of that ruling, the judicial review brought forward by Minister Cele, which was heard on Wednesday 3 June 2020, concluded that the public protector’s report should be declared invalid and set aside,” added Themba.
(Compiled by Inside Politics staff)
