Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane now faces criminal charges of perjury and defeating the ends of justice.
Civil society group Accountability Now announced on Monday that it has laid the charges following the recent Constitutional Court ruling against Mkhwebane.
The matter related to her report into Absa and the Reserve Bank, which the High Court set aside as being “unconstitutional” in 2018.
The Constitutional Court agreed that Mkhwebane had conducted the investigation in bad faith and made misrepresentations under oath.
It also ruled that she had failed to adequately explain her secret meetings with former President Jacob Zuma and the State Security Agency (SSA) in the course of her investigation.
The Court therefore upheld a personal cost order against Mkhwebane.
Paul Hoffman, the director of Accountability Now, said in an SABC interview that the matter is now with the South African Police Service (SAPS).
It’s up to the NPA to decide whether a charge of perjury is sufficient. It’s also considerable that they will read into the findings that have been made, an attempt by her to defeat the ends of justice.
Accountability Now director Paul Hoffman
Image credit: Twitter/Paul Hoffman SC
Mkhwebane also faces another complaint laid against her at the Legal Practices Council. The complaint seeks to have her truck off the roll of advocates.
Parliament could also start an inquiry into her suitability to hold the office of Public Protector when it reconvenes in early September.
In a letter to National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise recently, Mkhwebane cautioned Parliament from proceeding with an inquiry without rules of procedure.
In an interview with EWN on Friday last week, Mkhwebane further warned that Parliament would have to put forward valid reasons for her removal.