The political battle disguised as lawfare between Cyril Ramaphosa and Busisiwe Mkhwebane reached fever pitch after a Western Cape High Court ruling declared the President's suspension of the Public Protector invalid.

In South Africa a day, never mind a week, is a long time in politics. At the close of the workday on Friday, 9 September, the Public Protector's "dream team" were all victory signs and good cheer -- only to have the party pooped on almost immediately as the Democratic Alliance filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court.

On Friday, a full Bench of the Western Cape High Court comprising Judges Lister Nuku, Matthew Francis and James Lekhuleni found that President Cyril Ramaphosa had been conflicted when he made the decision to suspend Busisiwe Mkhwebane.

Initial reaction of the Dream Team just after the news broke ... Thank you all for the hard work thank you all #FieldNegroes for the support... Hard luck to the others for this round..Sorry for the chest pains... (Still some way to go,but in the end victory is certain)!✊✊❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/iAzXkQBDUn

-- Dali Mpofu (@AdvDali_Mpofu) September 9, 2022

Ramaphosa had, said the judges, been tainted by bias when he suspended the Public Protector and had...