Busisiwe Mkhwebane has missed two Section 194 impeachment inquiry deadlines, despite her self-created legal quagmire. The inquiry chair, Qubudile Dyantyi, announced that Mkhwebane had missed the revised process deadlines, meaning the inquiry hums along in writing. Mkhwebane was due to notify the committee by Monday, 19 June 2023, whether she would respond to questions in writing or orally. The following deadline of 22 June was also missed.
Mkhwebane, through her "attorneys of record," Hope Chaane, who appears to have recovered after a sudden hospitalisation in early June, has been negotiating terms of engagement. Dyantyi noted that Mkhwebane had written that the R4-million set aside for her legal fees was "insufficient" and that her attorneys needed time to deal with the behemoth of a case. The Office of the Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) terminated their services after a sick note indicated that Mr Hope Chaane was booked off indefinitely ill.
The State Attorneys were obtained for Mkhwebane at no cost but were rejected based on a "patent conflict of interest." Dyantyi argued that the timelines set by Dyantyi were "unrealistic" and that Mkhwebane was never requested to make an input on the substance of the deadlines. The deadlines were, therefore, "not enforceable."
Despite efforts by various government departments, Dyantyi said that the process was in limbo at her end. He criticised Mkhwebane and Chaane's Attorneys for not taking the necessary steps to brief the council to deal with the outstanding merits of the impeachment inquiry. Dyantyi emphasised that the committee is duty-bound to hold the client to account vis-à-vis the severe charges in the motion and that Parliament has a constitutional function to perform about the motion. The committee's programme would continue, and Mkhwebane would receive her written questions by 25 June.
