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By Mayibongwe Maqhina 
Oct 15, 2020
Cape Town – Parliament is involving Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng in the panel that will consider whether there is a case for public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to respond before moving ahead with an investigation to remove her from office.
This comes after it became known that some of the nominees to the panel that will consider the prima facie case against Mkhwebane were judges.
Reporting to the National Assembly program committee on Thursday, Secretary Masibulele Xaso said that President Thandi Modise has applied to the names that were put forward by the parties earlier this year.
“The Spokesperson has made a decision on the names of the panel. However, one step remains because the panelists involve one or two judges.
“The president has to consult with the president of the Supreme Court. That is what the rules require,” he said.
“Once the president of the Supreme Court has expressed his opinion on the matter, the president will be in a position to appoint the panel,” Xaso said.
He also said that it was not advisable to make the names of the nominees public.
Xaso said the panelists were expected to begin their work on November 1 and finish in 30 days.
“The process is receiving the attention it requires. The panelists will be asked to declare that they have a conflict of interest in the process,” he said when responding to a question from parliamentarians.
Modise said the process to appoint the panel had been slow after parties were asked to nominate again when some nominees withdrew in the first round.
“Among the first names, as exciting as they were, we chose one by one and they also declared their conflict of interest.
“We looked through and came up with a particular group of names,” he said.
“Some of them withdrew because they were receiving cases that affected any of the parties involved,” Modise said.
Modise said that among the nominees were high-level lawyers and judges.
He assured that the process to eliminate Mkhwebane would be launched as soon as matters with Mogoeng were cleared up.
However, he noted that there have been tensions since the district attorney called for Mkhwebane’s removal.
“I am supposed to be the enemy of the Public Protector and I don’t know why. I have no interest at all. I live by what I said earlier.
“I try to be as honest as I can in both private and public life,” said Modise, who escaped the personal cost order when Mkhwebane lost his interdiction request.
Political Bureau
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