I don’t want money, only an apology – Mkhwebane on DA, EFF spy claims

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane maintains she is still waiting for evidence of her being a spy, an allegation that sent shockwaves through the political sphere in 2016 when DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach and fellow MP Werner Horn suggested at a press briefing in September of that year that the public protector was a spy appointed to further state capture during then president Jacob Zuma’s term.

“I’m not even suing them. I’m just saying show me the evidence and, if you don’t have the evidence, retract your statement and issue an apology to South Africans.”

She argues the EFF should also consider retracting their statements on the issue.

Breytenbach turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal last year in a bid to prove she was justified in alleging that Mkhwebane was a spy.

Although Breytenbach remained confident about the allegations, Mkhwebane launched a defamation suit against her in 2017.

Breytenbach’s allegations against Mkhwebane were later thrown out by the Western Cape High Court.

Mkhwebane wants the party and its MPs to retract and apologise for their allegations, which according to her tarnished the public protector’s office. The allegations also made it challenging for South Africans to trust her, Mkhwebane said during an interview on Power FM on Wednesday morning.

Asked if she thought Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan was behind attacks against her office, Mkhwebane said it was possible, based on how Gordhan had commented on SA Revenue Service reports.

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