Johannesburg - The ANC Youth League and student body Cosas must explain their “disparaging” comments about Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the ruling party said oQn Monday.
“The secretary general of the ANC comrade Gwede Mantashe has therefore summoned the ANCYL and Cosas to explain their remarks on the public protector,” African National Congress spokesman Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.
On Monday, Beeld reported that Congress of SA Students (Cosas) secretary general Tshiamo Tsotetsi labelled Madonsela “that woman with the big, ugly nose” at a gathering near Brits.
The crowd, consisting mainly of National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) members and ANC Majakaneng, used vulgarities in expressing their anger at Madonsela on Sunday.
“F*** off Nkandla report, f*** off”, and “F*** off Madonsela, f*** off”, the crowd shouted, according to the newspaper.
On Thursday, the ANCYL said: “Madonsela must finish up with this Nkandla mess then go.”
It further said she was poisoning the public against the ANC.
Madonsela came under fire last week after releasing her report on the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mthembu said the disparaging comments about Madonsela by the youth league and Cosas was in contrast with the ANC's own views.
“The remarks made and the sentiments expressed do not reflect the views of the ANC and are in contrast with the manner in which we… would expect members of the organisation to conduct themselves in debate,” he said.
“The ANC reaffirms its support and confidence in the institutions established by our Constitution to protect and strengthen our democratic order. The office of the public protector is an integral component of this machinery.”
Mthembu called on citizens to question Madonsela's report before making a judgement.
“We once again call upon on all South Africans to subject the public protector's report, not the public protector, to objective assessment and scrutiny in order to reach informed judgement.” - Sapa