Cape Town - A Cape Town advocate’s 11th-hour application for the reconsideration of the recusal of the chairperson of Parliament’s Section 194 committee looking into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office has been declined.
Advocate Winston Erasmus’s recusal application, sent on Tuesday this week, was sent under the terms of the Protected Disclosure Act and contained three charges against committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi (ANC).
Erasmus said that he was an employee of the ANC from June 2017 to August 2019 and held the position of researcher based at the ANC Western Cape provincial legislature caucus.
His application claims that Dyantyi Western Cape campaign manager for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign during the 2017 ANC national conference and therefore cannot be impartial on matters pertaining to charges against Mkhwebane on the issue.
In his application, Erasmus said Dyantyi was head of organising, mobilising and campaigns (OMC) for Ramaphosa’s 2019 election, and that he had supported and participated in an ANC special operation authorised by Ramaphosa.
Erasmus said if Dyantyi was the alleged CR17 campaign manager for Ramaphosa’s 2017 Nasrec campaign then it disqualified him as an independent and impartial member of the inquiry and its chairperson.
Erasmus said the crux of the case is that the participation of Dyantyi as a panel member and its chairperson offended Mkhwebane’s right to a fair and just administrative process.
“It will be argued that the entire process should be impeached on the basis that it was devoid of fairness and that if conducted on the basis that the panel refused to ‘declare the chair vacant’, would offend Mkhwebane’s right to a fair administrative process.”
He said it would furthermore offend natural justice and was akin to subjecting Mkhwebane to a kangaroo court. Erasmus’ application comes as the inquiry is on its last legs with just the report to be finalised before it is tabled before Parliament.
Asked why he had waited this long to come out with his allegations and what he would do if the committee dismissed the application, he said Mkhwebane’s formal recusal application and Dyantyi’s response had only come to his attention last week.
“His response is dated July 24. I only saw it on Friday, July 28.”
Responding to queries from the Cape Argus, a spokesperson for Dyantyi said: “The chairperson has indicated that he did indeed receive the application yesterday (Tuesday) and has responded by way of a letter to Mr Erasmus indicating that he will not revisit his decision to recuse himself.”
Last week, in respect of the CR17 matter, members of the committee indicated that Mkhwebane did not conduct her investigation in a manner that ensured impartial or independent conduct and relied on the wrong ethical code to come to a determination.