EDITORIAL: A festival of farce and folly with Mkhwebane in and out of courts
If only the public protector’s mulish litigious bent inspired public confidence that advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane was a champion of democracy. In the latest demand on the Constitutional Court’s precious time, Mkhwebane aims to persuade the bench to review (that is: rescind) a decision not to rescind a previous judgment. It is fast becoming a revolving comedy of purported legal errors, and one with serious implications.
The nub of this increasingly absurd saga is a straightforward question. Is Mkhwebane unfit to hold office due to misconduct or incompetence? The answer is yes or no. Importantly, of course, litigants have the right to appeal. They may try their luck, and quite comfortably when the public foots the bill. In rare instances a court mulcts some litigious mandarin with a personal costs order — think former social development minister and convicted perjurer Bathabile Dlamini — but that is exception not rule...
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