Cape Town – The alleged death threats against Public Protector Thuli Madonsela need to be taken seriously and the Democratic Alliance will seek an urgent update on the investigation into the matter, the party said on Sunday.
“The SA Police Service (SAPS) must investigate these allegations and tell Parliament what will be done to ensure the safety of our heads of Chapter Nine institutions who need to discharge their constitutional mandate without fear or intimidation,” DA spokesman Zakhele Mbhele said on Sunday.
“If the SAPS fails to act, I will write to the Western Cape police ombudsman Vusi Pikoli requesting that an investigation be conducted into the SAPS’s dereliction of duty in this regard,” he said.
According to media reports on Sunday, Madonsela had been told by a police informer of an intended attempt on her life, which would be planned to look like a car accident. A prominent Western Cape gang boss had reportedly been paid R740 000 to arrange a hit on Madonsela.
“It cannot be that the heads of critical institutions in defence of our democracy can have threats made on their lives for acting in a manner that is too independent in an effort to root out government corruption wherever it festers,” Mbhele said.
“Our nation’s VIP protection unit falls under the SAPS which is duty-bound to ensure that the public protector is protected and not intimidated so she may continue to carry out her constitutional functions.”
Violence and the threat thereof could not be tolerated and the DA wanted the SAPS to take these allegations seriously and ensure that threats on human life, both high profile and ordinary, were prevented and dealt with effectively.
“After all, it is the SAPS who are constitutionally enjoined to keep all South Africans safe,” Mbhele said.
African News Agency