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Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane
- The Constitutional Court rejected the request for authorization from the public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to appeal the decision that its subpoena powers do not extend to taxpayer information.
- However, the high court struck down the personal expense order against Mkhwebane.
- Mkhwebane wanted access to the tax information of former President Jacob Zuma, accused of corruption.
Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane suffered another loss in court when the Constitutional Court rejected her direct request for permission to appeal a High Court ruling on her matter to obtain the tax information of former President Jacob Zuma, accused of corruption.
However, he also won a victory when the Constitutional Court annulled the personal costs order against him, and the court expressed concern about the tendency to seek personal costs orders against him.
In a unanimous decision, Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga said: “This court considers that an appeal does not affect the jurisdiction of this court.”
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However, the court granted Mkhwebane’s request for authorization to appeal the personal costs imposed against him in the matter. Madlanga said the Superior Court ruling that he acted in bad faith “begs faith.” He said there was no basis for the personal expense order and that it should be set aside.
Mkhwebane and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have been involved in a court battle over Zuma’s tax records after Mkhwebane cited the records in October 2018. In November, SARS launched an urgent lawsuit to block access. from Mkhwebane to Zuma’s tax information.
Mkhwebane argued that he needed access to Zuma’s tax information as part of an investigation. His investigation follows a 2017 request from then-DA leader Mmusi Maimane to investigate Zuma’s tax affairs after investigative journalist Jacques Pauw, in his book. President’s Guardians, stated that the former president had received a salary of 1 million rand from a private security company run by his associate Roy Moodley after he assumed the presidency.
In March, Judge Peter Mabuse ruled that tax agency officials can withhold information about taxpayers. Furthermore, the powers of subpoena of the Public Protector do not extend to taxpayer information. In accordance with the personal costs order awarded against Mkhwebane, he was ordered to pay 15% of the SARS legal fees.
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