This, after Hamilton Samuel was set to account before the Chapter 9 institution today over an open letter that got him kicked to the curb back in March. Samuel was suspended by Busisiwe Mkhwebane on March 11 after writing an open letter calling for her resignation. He said Mkhwebane was unfit to hold office and should rather leave her duties. 

OFM News on Sunday reported that Samuel has not backed down on his call. He maintains Mkhwebane has brought the office of the Public Protector into disarray and has on several occasions failed to uphold the office's mandate, and she has not conducted thorough investigations on various cases. OFM News' Katleho Morapela reports that Samuel's postponed case comes at a time when Mkhwebane is also fighting against a parliamentary process seeking to remove her from office.

The Western Cape High Court last week Friday dismissed her application to stop the parliamentary process to conduct an inquiry into her removal from office, stating that the public looked to the Speaker of the National Assembly to deal with matters affecting public bodies and that the process undertaken by Parliament was not wrong.

The Court also ruled that claims of bias and bad faith by the National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and the motivator of the removal proceedings, the DA, were unsubstantiated.

Samuel further maintains being placed on suspension has not restored his confidence regarding Mkhwebane’s interests and capabilities as a public servant, nor has he changed his mind about her leadership skills.

He told OFM News the controversial multi-million rand Estina Dairy Project in the province remains a classic example of how Mkhwebane fails to do her job and prioritises the interests of certain politicians before that of the public.

Releasing 14 investigative reports last month, Mkhwebane outlined that a report into Estina Dairy Farm can be expected by the end of October.

She confirmed investigations into the role played by politicians in the project were almost complete with her office having identified all implicated parties and served them with notices. Mkhwebane said some parties that were served with notices requested more time to adequately consider its content before preparing their responses.

Her report into this project will come after the initial report was taken on judicial review by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Council for the Promotion of the South African Constitution (Casac), stating that it was nothing but a white-washing, seeking to protect politicians as it failed to indicate the role played by senior politicians such as the former Free State Premier Ace Magashule and former Agriculture MEC, Mosebenzi Zwane.

Following Samuel’s suspension back in March, Mkhwebane’s spokesperson Oupa Segalwe told OFM News the decision taken against Samuel was not a sanction, but a measure to allow investigations into his conduct to be carried out without any obstructions.

He said Samuel wrote the letter using office resources, including a branded letterhead, and that he abused the office's facilities to pursue his own vendetta. He added that Samuel incited staff to turn against the Public Protector.

OFM News