Johannesburg - Suspended Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane has accused acting Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka of acting like President Cyril Ramaphosa's protector.
This comes after Gcaleka, in a statement, said Mkhwebane does not work for the Office of the Public Protector and therefore should not return to work.
On Monday, Mkhwebane stated that she intended to report for duty on Tuesday as the Section 194 committee had concluded its investigation into her fitness to hold office and therefore she could return to work pending a vote in the National Assembly.
However, Mkhwebane could not return to work after Ramaphosa stopped her through a detailed media statement detailing why she should not come back to work.
While speaking to members of the media outside the offices, Mkhwebane said Gcaleka had acted inappropriately when she tried to interfere with her return to the office.
In a statement, Gcaleka said Mkhwebane was not an employee at the office of the Public Protector and was not entitled to return to her office.
Gcaleka, through her spokesperson, Ndili Msoki, said they had taken note of Mkhwebane's intention to report for duty but advised her to refrain from doing so.
However, Mkhwebane, who could not go inside, told members of the media that Gcaleka had interfered with the duties of the president when she tried to stop her.
"They should have kept quiet. I think the deputy public protector has exposed herself. She has exposed what I was saying. It is as if she is working with persecutors. She is totally wrong. She should have kept quiet and allowed the president to deal with this matter. Parliament has said several times that we do not interfere with the suspension because that is a presidential responsibility as we are dealing with the inquiry," she said.
Mkhwebane said it was embarrassing to see Gcaleka interfere with the work of the president.
"It is embarrassing. It shows that and means that what she is accused of being a president's protector is true. Who is paying me? The president. I am suspended with full benefits, allowances, and everything. Now she comes back and says I am not an employee. Indeed, I am accountable to Parliament, but for this institution; I am its executive authority," Mkhwebane told Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday.
Mkhwebane arrived at the premises of the Office of the Public Protector and addressed members of the media on Tuesday, saying police were instructed to block her from coming in.
Ramaphosa said Mkhwebane failed to understand the law, as the law made it clear that only a vote in the National Assembly can decide if she returns to work or not.
The Star