Things went awry on Day 54 of the Section 194 inquiry into Public Protector Advocate Busi Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office, where Thuli Madonsela came to blows with Dali Mpofu over her credentials.
Thuli Madonsela reacts to claims she faked advocate credentials
Monday’s sitting kicked off with Advocate Mpofu poised to place Madonsela, a former public protector credited as the catalyst behind the infamous State of Capture report, under intense examination.
Very quickly, tensions broke out into a full-scale verbal onslaught between Madonsela and Mpofu, where the latter taunted the former public protector about governance during her tenure as head of the Chapter 9 watchdog.
Madonsela and Mpofu traded several jabs before things got heated when the advocate representing Mkhwebane in the Section 189 inquiry probed the professor about her credentials as a legal practitioner.
When asked if she was registered as an advocate with the Legal Practice Council (LPC), Madonsela got very defensive and accused Mpofu of using unethical tactics to ‘bully’ her.
“It’s immaterial! It’s just you trying to bully me, Advocate Mpofu! Stick to the rules here!” Madonsela exclaimed.
Mpofu insisted he wanted to ascertain her credentials since there were honourable members in the inquiry who referred to her as an ‘advocate’, to which, Madonsela replied:
“It’s immaterial! Take it whatever way you want, sir,” the professor said.
Before Mpofu could resume his examination, EFF leader Julius Malema chimed in and criticised the committee’s chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi for failing to call Madonsela to order for dodging the question.
“The public knows. It’s very clear now. We had a public protector who’s not security cleared, who’s not an advocate, at least as defined in the current law,” Advocate Mpofu said.
Madonsela quickly rebutted Mpofu’s jibes and stressed that she is a professor of law and an appointed chair of social justice.
“I am appointed as a chair in social justice, as the affidavit says. And the affidavit did not claim that I am an advocate, but again, there’s a role of advocacy in this country. If you want to know whether I am registered as an advocate, you just need to find that out,” Madonsela exclaimed.
Here’s the full video of Madonsela’s gruelling day under Advocate Mpofu’s examination at the Section 194 inquiry.
NOTE: The fiery part about the former public protector’s credentials starts at the 16:00 mark.