THE suspended public protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, interfered with investigations to protect politicians.
This was said by Senior Public Protector office investigator Tebogo Kekana, testifying at Parliament’s Committee for Section 194 Enquiry on Monday 18 July.
He said the first incident took place in May 2017 during Mkhwebane’s meeting with State Security Minister David Mahlobo, former State Security Agency (SSA) boss Arthur Fraser and official James Ramabulana.
The office was investigating the CIEX Report and wanted input from state security. Kekana said he was told Mkhwebane and Mahlobo were in a secret meeting and the actual meeting started 10 minutes later. “I was instructed early by Mkhwebane not to record the meeting. I continued to take notes. I was told to stop taking notes. No reason was given.” Kekana said questions he’d prepared for Mkhwebane to ask Mahlobo were not asked at the meeting.
The Public Protector’s CIEX Report was based on a complaint by Paul Hofmann of Accountability Now. In 2010, he asked for an investigation into whether government had failed to act on a report by British investigations firm CIEX on the Reserve Bank’s apartheid-era bailout of Bankorp bank, later bought by Absa.
Kekana said recommendations for the Constitution to be amended to make changes to the Reserve Bank came from the SSA and not from Mkhwebane.
He said Mkhwebane interfered in the Vrede Dairy Farm report, telling investigators not to make any negative findings against politicians and not to include the Gupta Leaks in the report.
“We were instructed to remove the name of Ace Magashule, the premier at the time, and Mosebenzi Zwane, who was MEC for agriculture.”
Kekana said Mkhwebane was warned investigations weren’t complete and the report could be taken on review.
“She said she didn’t care,” he said.
