Busisiwe Mkhwebane says it’s cruel and callous for her to remain suspended

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says it’s cruel and callous for her to remain suspended, despite a court order which found her suspension to have been invalid.

She’s back in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday morning applying for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Mkhwebane disagrees with the second High Court ruling confirming that its order on her suspension is subject to confirmation by the Constitutional Court.

Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu, says there’s a reasonable probability a higher court will come to a different conclusion about whether Mkhwebane should be reinstated to her job immediately.

The Western Cape High Court found her suspension to have been invalid last month.

Mpofu has argued that that order should become immediately operational.

He says it could take months for the Constitutional Court to come to a conclusion both on a pending appeal, and whether or not to confirm the finding of the High Court that the conduct of the president was improper.

Mpofu says the Supreme Court of Appeal should consider the merits of the matter before it heads for the Constitutional Court on 24 November.

Mkhwebane is being supported in this application by three political parties – the UDM, ATM and PAC.