The Legal Practice Council (LPC) has launched a detailed application to have impeached Public Protector (PP) Busisiwe Mkhwebane struck from the roll, reports News24.

In the mammoth application filed in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), Gauteng LPC director Ignatius Briel detailed Mkhwebane’s ‘unprofessional, dishonourable and unworthy conduct’.

Mkhwebane, currently an MPL for the MKP, indicated she would oppose the application, which her foundation describes as ‘procedurally irregular, an abuse of process and multiple jeopardy’.

The LPC has applied for Mkhwebane to be struck from the roll of advocates on 18 grounds – including dishonesty, incompetence and bias.

‘The purpose of this application is to submit to the honourable court facts which the council contends constitute such a deviation from the standards of professional conduct that the inference is inescapable that (Mkhwebane) is not a fit and proper person to remain an advocate and which will justify the honourable court in ordering that the name of the respondent be struck from the roll of legal practitioners (advocates),’ Briel stated in court papers.

He said the LPC was not obligated to subject Mkhwebane to a disciplinary inquiry before applying to have her struck from the roll because it had formed the view – based on myriad damning findings made against her by the parliamentary Section 194 committee that resolved she should be impeached – that she was no longer fit and proper.

Briel argued that the misconduct and incompetence findings made against Mkhwebane by the committee ‘are equally relevant and material in an inquiry into whether (she) is fit and proper to remain on the roll of legal practitioners’.

Moreover, he added, the independent panel which determined that Mkhwebane should face an impeachment inquiry had ‘found prima facie evidence of incompetence on her part based on a number of repeated instances, including what it described as grossly overreaching and exceeding the bounds of her powers in terms of the Constitution’.

This misconduct included ‘unconstitutionally trenching on Parliament’s exclusive authority when (Mkhwebane) directed it to initiate a process to amend the Constitution; incorrect interpretation of the law; failure to take relevant information into account; failure to provide affected persons with a right to be heard; incorrect factual analysis; and sustained lack of knowledge to carry out her duties or ability or skill to perform the duties of the PP effectively and efficiently’.

According to News24, Briel pointed out, much of the subject matter investigated by the inquiry emerged from the multiple damning court rulings against Mkhwebane.

Under her leadership, her office spent millions of rands in state funds defending her indefensible reports on President Cyril Ramaphosa, former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, the so-called SARS ‘Rogue Unit’ and the Vrede Dairy Project scam.

In addition to hiring ‘fugitive from justice’ Paul Ngobeni to write articles attacking certain judges who ruled against her in some of those investigations, Mkhwebane also lodged misconduct complaints against 14 judges with the JSC on completely spurious grounds.

According to Briel, after the LPC alerted Mkhwebane that it was considering lodging that application in April 2024 and invited her to show cause why she should remain an advocate, the highly litigious former PP did not respond, notes News24.

Mkhwebane has now filed a notice to oppose the LPC’s striking-off application.

In response, the Busisiwe Mkhwebane Foundation said she had been a non-practising advocate for more than 27 years, and her answering affidavit would dismantle the LPC’s application.

Mkhwebane has until the end of August 2026 to file her affidavit.

Full News24 report