PARLIAMENT- Newly appointed Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Tuesday said she would not hand her predecessor’s report on allegations of state capture to the Democratic Alliance because it was sub judice.
“I cannot release the report until the matter is finalised because the matter is sub judice,” Mkhwebane told Parliament’s portfolio committee on justice.
“The court said it should be kept safe.”
This was in response to DA MP Werner Horn who said his party had a right to Thuli Madonsela’s report because it was the complainant that prompted her investigation into allegations that wealthy individuals were directing government decisions.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has written to Mkhwebane demanding a copy. Madonsela decided not to release the report after President Jacob Zuma and Cooperative Governance Minister Des van Rooyen launched separate court applications against her last week.
The president is seeking an interdict to stop the report making public while Van Rooyen is challenging Madonsela’s right to summons him.
Their applications will be heard in early November.
Mkhwebane told MPs she has not read the report. It is currently in a safe in the office of the Public Protector’s head of legal services, she said.
– African News Agency (ANA)