South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended the country’s anti-corruption chief Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane with immediate effect.
Mkhwebane had been accused of being politically biased in her investigations.
A court ruled four years ago that she had acted inappropriately while conducting some of her investigations.
Mkhwebane’s suspension comes barely one day after she announced she would investigate claims of money laundering against Ramaphosa.
South Africa’s former spy boss, Arthur Fraser, filed a criminal complaint against the president earlier this week, accusing him of money laundering and not reporting a robbery at his farm where $4 million was allegedly stolen.
The robbery has created outrage among South Africans who question why there was so much foreign currency at the president’s farm.
Ramaphosa said the money was the proceeds from the sale of the game at his farm and not from taxpayers.
“I have never stolen taxpayers’ money. I want to reaffirm that I was not involved in any criminal conduct and once again I pledge my full cooperation with any form of investigation,” said Ramaphosa, who is known for his tough stance on corruption.
He said the $4 million figure being reported is exaggerated and claims being made against him are politically motivated but this will not deter him from focusing on rebuilding the economy and fighting corruption.
