DA refers Mkhwebane to Ethics Committee

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will refer Busisiwe Mkhwebane to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee for violation of the Code of Ethics for members.

The basis of the complaint is a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) making derogatory, racist, and unsubstantiated accusations against individuals of Indian descent and parliamentary staff, blaming them for her repeated failures to convince our courts of the merit of her legal action.

The Code of Conduct for members of the National Assembly among others requires members to abide by their Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution and laws of the Republic, to maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of Parliament, and thereby engender the respect and confidence that society needs to have in Parliament as a representative institution; and in the performance of their duties and responsibilities, to be committed to the eradication of all forms of discrimination.

It further bars members from using social media to:

• bring Parliament into disrepute when using, engaging in or communicating content on social media platforms;
• when addressing another Member or a member of the public on social media platforms must not use derogatory, racist or sexist language or content that is derogatory, racist, sexist; and
• when using social media platforms to promote hate speech.

The DA will submit an affidavit to the Registrar of Parliament requesting the Ethics Committee, once constituted, to investigate this matter to make a ruling and impose an appropriate sanction on Mkhwebane.

The DA will not allow such remarks attacking the dignity of a particular race group, the individuals involved, and Parliament to go unchecked. In the meantime, we urge Mkhwebane to do introspection and consider whether her continuous failure to convince the courts of the merits of her legal action is not perhaps based in the fact that her tenure as Public Protector was riddled with unethical behaviour and gross misconduct that led to her impeachment by the National Assembly.