Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan on Monday won round one in his legal battles with Public Protector Busisiswe Mkhwebane after the high court in Pretoria granted him an interdict suspending the latter from enforcing any remedial action against him.
Gordhan approached the court after Mkhwebane released a report which found he had unlawfully established a rogue intelligence unit in the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
In her report, Mkhwebane maintained that Gordhan, during his tenure as SARS Commissioner, had breached the Constitution and the National Strategic Intelligence Act when the unit was established.
The remedial action, which called on the President, Parliament, the SA Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority to act against Gordhan, was suspended pending the outcome of a review application which comes before the court at a later stage.
Judge Sulet Potterill said that the Public Protector's remedial action was vague and that Gordhan would suffer irreparable harm if the interdict was not granted.
The court ruling comes a week after a majority ruling by the Constitutional Court found Mkhwebane had not acted in good faith and made false and misleading statements, in the litigation around her Absa/Bankorp report.
She was ordered to pay 15% of the South African Reserve Bank’s costs and there have been renewed calls for Parliament to remove her and the Legal Practice Council to strike her off the advocates roll.
- African News Agency (ANA)
