Public Protector of SA investigator Bianca Mvuyana was put on the spot over her testimony at the enquiry into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.
PUBLIC Protector of SA (PPSA) investigator Bianca Mvuyana was on Tuesday put on the spot over her testimony on Monday at the enquiry into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.
Mvuyana, who was previously based at the PPSA’s headquarters, was summoned to testify last week.
In her statement to the committee on Monday, Mvuyana said that some of the evidence regarding the Sars investigating unit has been grossly misrepresented.
She also said she disagreed with some of the testimony given at the proceedings and the material findings of the high court.
The committee’s evidence leader, Nazreen Bawa, quizzed Mvuyana about if there had been any accusations made against her or previous witness, chief investigator Rodney Mataboge, of collusion or corruption in any of the court judgments that have been handed down against Mkhwebane.
Bawa also wanted to know if there had been any finding of Mvuyana or Mataboge having had any form of vendetta against anyone.
When Mvuyana answered no to both questions, Bawa asked what had led her to feel the need to raise the issues before the committee.
Mvuyana said: “Besides the fact that I was asked a question, it’s been alluded to by a couple of newspaper articles and some of the witnesses that came here.
“That’s why I felt that it must be clear that from my own personal work ethic, there was no malfeasance on my side and bias.”
Asked which witnesses she meant, Mvuyana named former Sars executive and self-declared whistle-blower Johann van Loggerenberg, former SA Revenue Service deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay and a number of PPSA staff members who have previously testified before the committee.
Mvuyana was also taken back to her evidence on the Inspector-General of Intelligence (IGI) report on the Sars investigating unit.
On Monday, she said she had not seen it because, unlike Mkhwebane, she did not have top-secret security clearance.
When Bawa asked how she had reached the conclusion that, as an investigator, she could only access classified reports if she had such clearance.
Mvuyana said Mkhwebane and Mataboge both had told her this was the case. She admitted that she had not bothered to check what the law said about such matters.
