PRETORIA, Wednesday 30 September 2026 — Former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has been acquitted of the remaining perjury charges arising from her investigation into the Absa-Bankorp bailout after a court granted her application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.
The decision on Wednesday brings the criminal prosecution against Mkhwebane to an end after years of litigation stemming from findings made by the Constitutional Court of South Africa about conflicting accounts she gave concerning meetings with former president Jacob Zuma.
Mkhwebane had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Her lawyers sought a discharge after the prosecution closed its case, and the court granted the application on Wednesday.
Case stemmed from Reserve Bank investigation
The prosecution had its origins in Mkhwebane’s investigation into the apartheid-era Bankorp bailout and her subsequent report concerning Absa and the mandate of the South African Reserve Bank.
In 2019, the Constitutional Court upheld a personal costs order against Mkhwebane and made adverse findings about the explanations she had provided concerning meetings held during that investigation.
The criminal prosecution later centred on allegations that she had given false information under oath concerning those meetings.
The criminal case was separate from the constitutional litigation and required the State to prove the elements of the alleged offences beyond reasonable doubt.
Main charge withdrawn before acquittal
The prosecution had already narrowed significantly before Wednesday’s decision.
In August, prosecutors withdrew the principal perjury count that had formed the foundation of the case, while Mkhwebane continued to contest the remaining charges.
After the State presented its evidence on the remaining counts, her legal team applied for a discharge.
The granting of that application means Mkhwebane was not required to present a defence case before being acquitted.
The Busisiwe Mkhwebane Foundation welcomed the outcome, describing it as the end of a long legal chapter.
Criminal outcome does not reverse earlier court findings
Wednesday’s acquittal resolves the criminal prosecution but does not overturn the Constitutional Court’s earlier judgment or the parliamentary process that ultimately resulted in Mkhwebane’s removal as Public Protector.
Those proceedings applied different legal tests and were separate from the criminal trial.
Mkhwebane became the first head of a Chapter 9 institution to be removed through a parliamentary impeachment process when the National Assembly voted to remove her from office in September 2023.
She subsequently entered party politics and served as an EFF MP before later leaving the party.
The acquittal nevertheless closes one of the longest-running criminal consequences arising from the controversy surrounding her tenure as Public Protector.
