Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, former Public Protector, has expressed her displeasure on social media after the court denied her R10 million claim. Mkhwebane said in a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, that processes were “weaponised” to financially burden and corner her as South Africa’s former Public Protector.
On Wednesday, the Gauteng High Court Pretoria issued its decision after Mkhwebane petitioned the court to compel the Office of the Public Protector to pay out the funds.
Instead, Judge Omphemetse Mooki ruled against Mkhwebane, ordering her to pay the legal costs of the proceedings.
She went to X to convey her thoughts.
“The recent Ponnen judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in The Public Protector of South Africa v The Chairperson of the Section 194(1) Committee and Others has struck a disheartening chord with many who observe the legal landscapes and the intricate dance between law and justice,” Mr. Mkhwebane said.
“The case reflects a persistent pattern of legal proceedings that have seemingly been weaponised to financially burden and corner me, as the former Public Protector of South Africa,” she said.
Mkhwebane stated that Judge Mooki’s decision to refuse her urgent claim for a R10 million gratuity following her removal from office on September 11, 2022, adds another chapter to the ongoing dispute.
“Such obsessive pursuit of costs conjures up images of staged persecution, in which legal costs and proceedings are exploited to deplete resources and morale.
“These actions eerily echo Steve Biko’s sentiments about pushing the boundaries of an unsympathetic system in order to expose its flaws and limitations.” The courts’ continued use, not just as instruments of justice, but also as means of attrition against me, demonstrates a larger critical view of how such institutions can be used against individuals,” she said.
“Observers distrust the integrity and impartiality of legal proceedings when they appear to be embroiled in political machinations. The repeated legal and financial demands on me appear to mirror a narrative in which the system is put to the test, revealing underlying injustices and systematic manipulation,” Mkhwebane stated.
In this legal climate, advocates, observers, and critics all must remain vigilant. They must investigate if the courts are simply upholding the law or being used as tools of persecution against those who resist systemic pressures.
Mkhwebane’s prior rant against Ponnan caused her to face legal consequences.
Judge President Cagney Musi, spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Justice, stated that the Judiciary is independent and only bound by the Constitution and the law, which it will continue to apply impartially and without fear, favor, or bias.
Musi stated that, while persons who bring matters before the courts have the right to express views that differ from those expressed by the courts in their cases, a degradation of discourse into racially hostile statements is undesirable and would not be accepted.