Another week, another defeat - it's bedtime for Busisiwe, says DA

DA chief whip John Steenhuisen on Monday hailed the interim court interdict granted to president Cyril Ramaphosa against Busisiwe Mkhwebane as another reason for the public protector to be booted out.

Steenhuisen said the judgment, along with other court defeats Mkhwebane has endured in recent weeks, mounted a good case for the DA's long-held view that she is unfit to hold office.

This comes after the Pretoria high court granted Ramaphosa an interdict on Monday morning, staying the implementation of Mkhwebane’s remedial action against him in her report on the now controversial CR17 election campaign.

According to Steenhuisen, the sooner Mkhwebane was removed, the better. 

"While the DA believes that the president has a case to answer [for CR17 campaign funding] and that he must be held to account, we respect the court’s ruling and will abide by this decision," said Steenhuisen.

"Today’s [Monday's] court ruling does, however, raise questions about Mkhwebane’s fitness for office and is a further blow to her credibility. It cannot be that the public protector staggers from one defeat to the next on an almost weekly basis. The high court decision reaffirms the DA’s position that Mkhwebane needs to be removed."

Steenhuisen added that Mkhwebane, upon assuming the office three years ago, had "on numerous occasions showed the public that she is wholly unsuitable for office".

The longer she remains in office, the more she will erode the nation’s faith in this very crucial chapter 9 institution," he said.