Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has been slammed after she made claims in a speech to the SA Sheriff’s Society in Mpumalanga on Friday night, that she was placed in her position by God and that only God can remove her. The speech was live-tweeted on the account @PublicProtector, bringing it to the attention of the public.
In the speech which started off in congratulation to newly appointed sheriffs, Mkhwebane became increasingly vitriolic, claiming she had been subject to “the most unfair reporting in the media” and never received a “right of reply” on stories about her.
Seemingly addressing a specific incident, Mkwebane claimed her comments are often ignored for “word count considerations!!!”.
The Public Protector also claimed that her office was going through a testing time and was inundated with attacks on her, including that she was “a spy” and needed to be removed from office. She further lamented that the director-general had called her “an idiot” and journalists had allegedly described her as being “a moron”.
It was, however, her claims at being divinely placed in her work that received the most attention.
Commenters repeatedly pointed out to the public protector that she had been appointed by the people of South Africa through parliament and was accountable to them rather than the higher power.
Numerous people mentioned that this tweet alone showed Mkhwebane was out of touch and unsuited for office.
At least one commentator had fun with the tweet, openly mocking the public protector’s claims.
The full thread can be found here:
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