Busisiwe Mkhwebane who fought to the bitter end until her removal through a parliamentary vote announced her decision during a press conference held in Mpumalanga on Monday.
The party also unveiled former Director General and Jacob Zuma spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi who has since been sworn in as a member of parliament. Most recently the red berets welcomed former ANC Youth League National Coordinator Magasela Mzobe.
“Advocate Mkhwebane has been servant of the people of the people of South Africa for the last seven years, and has been a thorn in the side of the establishment and those who abuse their power at the expense of the most vulnerable in South Africa,” said the EFF in a statement welcoming her.
While the ANC, DA and IFP believed Mkhwebane was incompetent and worked together in her removal the EFF’s views on her have changed over time.
The party initially supported her candidature only to later refer to her as a‘mistake’ but most recently its MPs fought tooth and nail in her defence.
Despite her impeachment the EFF is adamant she was the best Public Protector South Africa has ever had citing among others the rare clean audits the office obtained under her leadership.
“During her tenure in office there were three consecutive clean audits from the auditor-general between 2019 and 2022, along with a notable reduction in caseload”, read the statement.
Mkhwebane was previously linked to the ANC but increasingly found herself at odds with a dominant faction within the party, mostly over probes related President Cyril Ramaphosa ( CR 17 and Phala Phala farm scandal).