Bernadette Wicks Lies in affidavits about how often she met ex-president Zuma, state alleges. Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane at the Pretoria Magistrates Court appearing on charges of Perjury, 21 January 2021 . Picture: Neil McCartney There is a lot on the line for perjury-accused Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who could face jail time, be disbarred and axed – if the charges against her stick. Criminal expert Dr Llewelyn Curlewis said yesterday there was a very real possibility that, if convicted, Mkhwebane could land up behind bars. “One would likely be looking at a shorter term for a first-time offender, though.” He also said she could be looking at a periodic imprisonment, a suspended sentence or a fine, instead. Any which way, though, a criminal conviction would almost certainly see Mk
Picture: Antonio Muchave
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is expected to make her first appearance in the Pretoria Magistrate s Court on Thursday.
Mkhwebane has been charged with perjury, which stems from findings made by the Constitutional Court judgment on the Absa/Bankorp review case.
The Gauteng DPP announced in December that it had taken a decision to criminally prosecute the Public Protector.
The Public Protector, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, is expected to make her first appearance in the Pretoria Magistrate s Court on Thursday.
She is facing three counts of perjury.
In December last year, the Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) announced the decision to criminally prosecute Mkhwebane.
Thapelo Lekabe The odds are stacked against Mkhwebane given the perjury case, an investigation by the Legal Practice Council over her fitness for office and the pending parliamentary impeachment process. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in the dock. Picture: Neil McCartney
Mkhwebane appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on three counts of perjury over her investigation into the apartheid-era loan by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to Absa in the 1980s.
“This postponement today [Thursday] is the beginning of the end for the public protector,” Hoffman told
The Citizen after the case was postponed to 25 March to prepare for a pre-trial hearing.
In the meantime, Magistrate Adriaan Bekker would also consider the media’s application to broadcast the proceedings.
#Publicprotector#BusisiweMkhwebane has arrived at the Pta Mag Court ahead of her first appearance on charges of perjury @TheCitizen Newspic.twitter.com/foy47skjpi
The charges against Mkhwebane relate to allegations that she lied under oath about meetings she had had with former president Jacob Zuma, in affidavits submitted to the North Gauteng High Court and the Pretoria Regional Court in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Paul Hoffmann – who heads up lobby group Accountability Now – opened the case against Mkhwebane in 2019, on the back of a scathing Constitutional Court judgment in which she was found personally liable for close to R1 milion worth of legal fees the SA Reserve Bank racked up reviewing Mkhwebane’s findings in the Bankorp matter.
Withdraw 3 perjury (lying under oath) charges against me! - Busisiwe Mkhwebane
21 January 2021 1:30 PM perjury charges against Busisiwe Mkhwebane Pretoria Magistrateâs Court
Share This: Hopefully, I will live to witness a democratic South Africa with a fair and objective justice system, she tweeted.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane wants perjury charges against her withdrawn.
âPerjuryâ is the offence of wilfully lying under oath.
Mkhwebaneâs layer, Advocate Dali Mpofu, says he will make an application to the High Court if the charges were not withdrawn.
She appeared before the Pretoria Magistrateâs Court on Thursday.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane appears in the Pretoria Magistrates Court on perjury charges on 21 January 2021. Picture: Nthakoana Ngatane/EWN