Phill Magakoe, Gallo Images
Norma Mngoma was arrested by the Hawks last July on charges of malicious damage to property and crimen injuria.
Her lawyer, advocate Dali Mpofu, argued that another motive for her arrest was to punish her for daring to confront her husband, Malusi Gigaba.
The High Court also ruled that information on her electronic devices be restored.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ruled that the warrant of arrest for Norma Mngoma and its execution by the Hawks was unlawful.
Judge Cassim Sardiwalla - in a lengthy judgment handed down on Thursday - made the following order:
The criminal complaint was laid by lobby group, Accountability Now, in July 2019 after a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling that upheld a Pretoria High Court judgment, which found that she was dishonest regarding the meetings she had had with former president Jacob Zuma in affidavits submitted to the court and the Pretoria Regional Court in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
The ConCourt also ordered that she personally cover 15% of the SARB’s legal costs in the case.
In an interview with
The Citizen, political economy analyst Daniel Silke said the public protector’s remarks could be seen as undermining the country’s judiciary.
“Those who have had judgments against them often want to criticise the system or to disparage the broader system. We are moving into an era in which the justice system and its bona fide is questioned in this way. It delegitimises such a critical foundation of the country,” Silke said.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane will make representations to the National Prosecuting Authority for the perjury charges against her to be withdrawn.
Mkhwebane made the comments on Twitter after a brief appearance at the Pretoria Magistrate Court earlier on Thursday where she was charged with three counts of perjury.