The suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is only months away from receiving a R10m payday, as the Section 194 impeachment inquiry continues silently. The committee's chair, Qubudile Dyantyi, issued a statement on June 16 confirming amendments to the committee's procedure. Mkhwebane may elect to answer questions orally or in writing under oath, and if she fails to answer, she will be expected to provide a written or oral closing argument. If she fails to provide comments on the draft report, it will be presumed that she has elected not to avail herself of it.
An amount of R4-million for legal fees was still available to Mkhwebane, who had rejected the recommended state attorney after her attorney of choice was stricken by an illness so sudden and severe he had to be hospitalized indefinitely. Since then, there has been a "press conference" releasing WhatsApps and alleged voice recordings of ANC MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson whose death will now be the subject of an inquest. Joemat-Pettersson is accused by Mkhwebane and her husband, David Skosana, of attempting to solicit a bribe for herself, Dyantyi, and ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina.
At the end of her term, Mkhwebane will receive a "gratuity" of about R10-million as part of the job package. This should happen in October, unless she is "removed from office" between then and now, but that in itself might not affect the payout. Public Protector legal adviser Ndili Msoki told Daily Maverick that conditions of service were determined by the Public Protector Act, passed in 1994, with the appointment of advocate Selby Baqwa in September 1995, and amended twice, in 1996 and 2002.
Mkhwebane's salary of R2,316,919 took effect on 1 April 2020, as published in the Government Gazette's proclamation notice 29 of 2021. Conditions of employment make provision for a "gratuity" calculated with the formula — D/7 x 2 x (E+3) x F, in which formula the factor: 'D' represents the salary (basic per annum) which at the time of his or her vacation of office was applicable to the office of the Public Protector; 'E' represents the period in years of his or her period in such office; and 'F' represents the provision for the calculation of income tax calculated at a marginal rate of 40%.
In 2017, advocate Thuli Madonsela received a R7.6-million "gratuity" of which she later repaid about R450,000 for damages to a state vehicle caused by her son in 2012. The Office of the Public Protector has admitted to paying the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for Mkhwebane's irregular rental of a home and apartment in the Bryntirion Presidential Estate in Pretoria, which she lived there throughout her tenure. Msoki did not respond to a query as to whether the R4-million could be recovered through a deduction from Mkhwebane's expected gratuity, as was done with Madonsela's payout.
