Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has been defeated yet again, after the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruled against her. The case relates to the dismissal of Sphelo Samuel, former Free State provincial head of the Public Protector’s office.
The CCMA ordered the Chapter 9 institution to reinstate Samuel and to pay the unfairly dismissed official an amount of R1.5 million.
Mkhwebane dismissed Samuel after he wrote to Parliament in 2020 requesting an investigation into the conduct of the Public Protector as well as the financial mismanagement at the institution. Samuel accused Mkhwebane of wasting taxpayers’ money in defending her cases when they were being exposed and lacking “a basic knowledge of the law and its practical application.
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In the ruling, the commissioner, James Ngoako Matshekga, ordered the Public Protector to reinstate Samuel before 4 July 2022, in addition to the payment of 12 months salary or R1.5 million. “The dismissal of the applicant [Samuel] by the respondent [Public Protector Mkhwebane] was substantively unfair, but procedurally fair,” Matshekga said.
The Public Protector who was suspended on 9 June this year, previously argued that Samuel was a “disgraced and disgruntled” employee facing disciplinary steps after he was found guilt of assault.