Tshwane – Advocate Thuli Madonsela signalled her departure from the Public Protector office during a highly attended media briefing in Pretoria on Friday.
“To my successor - I’m out. And that’s it. Just like that,” Madonsela said making gestures of dropping the microphone.
Madonsela fielded numerous questions from journalists, ranging from her own opinion of President Jacob Zuma to her next career move. She was also asked to give advice to the next Public Protector Busi Mkhwebane.
“I truly believe that we come to these positions, bringing pieces of ourselves. Your success stories will depend on what you’ve always done in your life. She just has to bring pieces of herself and join prices of this magnificent team and focus on the purpose of this office. That purpose is to assist government.”
Madonsela said during her tenure, she has never lied to government because that would have led the authorities towards a cliff.
She however dodged questions on her personal opinion regarding the actions of Zuma, particularly in relation to the alleged state capture investigation by the Public Protector.
“I don’t want to comment on whether the president is operating on the basis of good faith or not. That would be casting aspersions on him,” Madonsela said.
“All I said is that we had made arrangements to meet [with Zuma for the state capture probe] and to proceed along the lines we had agreed to, and on two occasions we didn’t proceed as agreed. What happened between those two agreements, only the Presidency is aware.”
She however noted that the court action where Zuma and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen are seeking an interdict blocking the release of the highly anticipated report, could not stop her from releasing the findings of her probe on Friday.
“A notice of intention to apply for an interdict is not an interdict. I decided not to release it because that is good practice. When persons have applied for an interdict, it doesn’t make sense to make it impossible for their interdict to matter,” she said.
Madonsela revealed at the briefing that her final report on investigations into allegations of state capture by the wealthy Gupta family is already in Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete’s safekeeping.
“Clause B [of Friday’s High Court ruling by Judge Dawie Fourie] says the report shall be preserved and kept in safekeeping. That is not an interim report, that is my final report,” said Madonsela.
“We have given it to the Speaker of Parliament for safekeeping.”
Judge Fourie issued a “preservation order”, which means the findings of the report cannot be public and the report has to be kept in “safekeeping”. He postponed the matter to November 1.
Opposition parties including the Congress of the People, Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters and the United Democratic Movement had joined the court case, opposing Van Rooyen’s applications to interdict Madonsela from releasing the report on state capture.
The EFF, through its attorney Tembeka Ngcukaitobi urged the court to compel Madonsela to release the report immediately.
Madonsela, who is leaving office Friday, at the end of her non-renewable seven-year term, had earlier in the week announced that she would release her preliminary report into allegations of “state capture” by the controversial Gupta family.
The Guptas have been accused of influencing the appointment of cabinet ministers - a prerogative of the president - and other senior government officials in order to benefit their business concerns.
Zuma, who has strong ties to the wealthy Gupta family, was seeking an interdict to halt the release of the report. This came three days after he demanded an undertaking from Madonsela that she would not wrap up her investigation until he had been allowed to question other witnesses in the investigation.
The president asked for more time and complained that he was given two days’ notice before Madonsela interviewed him last Thursday, and was expected to give evidence on matters of which he was not forewarned when she requested the meeting.
Madonsela, however, insists Zuma has had enough time, since March 22 this year, to answer her questions on the Gupta’s alleged influence on the State.
Zuma and Van Rooyen have come under fire for interdicting Madonsela, with political parties and analysts accusing them of panicking and applying delaying tactics in the midst of possible damning findings.
African News Agency