Parliament has hit back at former public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane for her outbursts about parliamentary staff and legal advisers.
On Wednesday, Mkhwebane took to the social media claiming her ongoing struggle has consistently involved key figures, predominantly of Indian descent, who positioned themselves as her persecutors.
This was after the Supreme Court of Appeal found that her appeal was “self-evidently dead on arrival”.
In her post, Mkhwebane named late former public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and Section 194 inquiry evidence leader Nazreen Bawa. Mkhwebane had also named Supreme Court of Appeal judge Visvanathan Ponnan, along with witnesses to her impeachment inquiry.
Parliament said on Thursday it noted with dismay the unfounded utterances by Mkhwebane, which sought to impugn the integrity of parliamentary staff members and as the evidence leader.
“There is no merit to the attack levelled against these legal advisers, who have served Parliament with diligence and integrity over the years.
“The unwarranted attack on these officials, along with the racial slurs used by advocate Mkhwebane, is particularly regrettable in a democratic society such as ours, where human dignity should be protected and respected.
“As a Member of Parliament and a public representative who owes allegiance to our Constitution, Advocate Mkhwebane has a responsibility to uphold and protect the values enshrined in the Constitution, which are the cornerstone of our democracy," spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said.
Mothapo also said Mkhwebane had appropriately sought the court’s intervention to express her dissatisfaction with the outcome of the impeachment inquiry and the court has now struck the matter from the roll.
“Parliament reaffirms its commitment to building a non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic South Africa.”
Meanwhile, Cosatu also criticized Mkhwebane for her “shameful utterances and attacks” on South Africans of Indian descent.
“It is unacceptable for a Member of Parliament to indulge herself in what amounts to hate speech against any section of South Africa’s population, including compatriots of Indian origin,” Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said.
Parks said Mkhwebane may not be familiar with the history of South Africa’s liberation struggle, including the fundamental task of building a non-racial society.
“She would do well to spend time not only reading the Freedom Charter adopted at the Congress of the People, where not only the ANC, but also the then South African Indian Congress, Coloured People’s Congress and Congress of Democrats as well as the SACP and the South African Congress of Trade Unions were signatories.”
He noted that Mkhwebane may be a relative newcomer to South Africa’s struggles, and she has the right to her views, even if they are not based on common sense.
“Whilst it is easy to dismiss rantings on social media, South Africa cannot afford to condone or normalise hate speech,” he said, adding that citizens expected better from elected public representatives.
Cape Times