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The Constitutional Court has rejected, with costs, the request for authorization from the public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to appeal against a judgment related to its report on the Vrede dairy project.
The report was initially overturned by the Pretoria High Court in May last year.
The parties that requested the annulment of the report, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Council for the Promotion of the Constitution of the SA (Casac), argued that the report was a diluted version of the truth that seemed to protect the highest-ranking public servants. .
In its ruling, the higher court said that the public protector did not adequately investigate the initial complaints made, acted irrationally, ignored relevant considerations and misapplied the law. It found that the public protector imposed corrective measures by recommending the high-level public officials involved to administer disciplinary procedures for others who had breached their mandates on the project.
Another ruling on the same matter later that year ordered Mkhwebane to pay 7.5% of the costs in a personal capacity, and the public protector’s office paid the remaining 92.5%.
The higher court rejected the public protector’s request for authorization to appeal in December last year. The public protector then filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Appeals, which in June dismissed her request, stating that there was no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and that there was no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.
Mkhwebane then approached the highest court in the country to appeal against the judgment on the merits and costs.
In its ruling on Friday morning, the Constitutional Court said it concluded that the public protector’s request should be dismissed because “it has no reasonable prospect of appeal.”
In his reaction, the district attorney said the public protector had exhausted all avenues to delay the accountability of leading politicians involved in the controversial Gupta-linked project, and was now being asked to finalize the report.
“The DA now encourages the PP to finalize the report of the Vrede Dairy Project, with the same vigor and haste that was shown to seek legal resources. It is time for the PP to demonstrate critical thinking and restore faith in the state institution, ”said Roy Jankielsohn, DA leader of the official opposition in the Free State legislature.
Casac said this case supported the principle of accountability with respect to state institutions that exist to interrogate and hold accountable public servants charged with protecting the interests of the vulnerable.
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