LETTER: Mkhwebane is no judge
The public protector’s spats reveal a lack of understanding of her office
I am shocked by the conduct of public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and her communications spokesperson, Oupa Segwale. I initially disregarded the unprecedented YouTube video of the public protector discussing public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, but when I saw her spokesperson going on a tirade on a range of media platforms responding to comments on the matter by Solly Mapaila and Gwede Mantashe I was stunned.
For a start, to equate the public protector to a judge in a court of law is ridiculous. A judge would never use the media to argue with his or her detractors. The reference by Segwale to the apology issued by Mapaila for his comments on the late Robert Sobukwe was equally problematic. I would have expected the public protector and her spokesperson to take society into their confidence about the work of the office in a dignified manner. Instead they have engaged in a street fight with the SA Communist Party...
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