Madonsela, ANC War of Words Heats Up

Legalbrief | your legal news hub Tuesday 28 September 2021

Madonsela, ANC war of words heats up

The ANC continued its unrelenting attack on Thuli Madonsela yesterday, with party heavyweights suggesting she was abusing her office, dabbling in politics and deliberately leaking reports and then glibly blaming a member of the ruling party for the leaks, notes Legalbrief.

However, the Public Protector remains defiant, taking to Twitter to defend herself. In a series of tweets she expressed her frustration at the attacks on her office by Luthuli House and the ANC caucus in Parliament, notes a report in The Mercury. It says that under the hashtag #constitutionalism, Madonsela said South Africans should face the truth that 'what's embarrassing the country are attempts to subvert the rule of law & not administrative scrutiny'. 'We are in trouble when politicians meddle in the investigation processes and leak documents, then cry foul,' she tweeted. She said if all South Africans respected the Constitution and the law, 'there would be no crisis'. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)

The ANC doesn't want her out of office before the end of her term but she must do her job correctly. That barely-disguised threat was contained in a statement by party secretary general Gwede Mantashe yesterday, notes Legalbrief. 'We don't want to remove the Public Protector, we want the Public Protector to do her work correctly and behave correctly,' Mantashe is quoted as saying in a report on the News24 site. Pushing the theme on her term of office, he added: 'We have no interest in removing her. She must finish her term but she must not abuse that term.' Mantashe said there was a sense that Madonsela was abusing her office and was always trying to get the attention of the media by saying things that were not in any report or being investigated anywhere. On the leaking of Madonsela's reports, he said the leaks could not be attributed to divisions within the ANC. The statement follows Madonsela's claim that a letter she had written to President Jacob Zuma was leaked by a senior ANC official to the media. Mantashe noted it had become the norm that all Public Protector reports would be leaked to the media before she had even released them. 'I know that every report she has been involved in... I'm going to read about it in the newspaper before it is released.' Mantashe's deputy Jesse Duarte questioned the manner in which the explanations for the leaks were given, but individuals not named. 'Each leak is glibly explained away. Who is that senior official who leaked the letter? There is nothing unfortunate about the leaks, they are timed and deliberate,' Duarte said. Duarte and Mantashe questioned the timing of the leaking of the letter and the heckling of Zuma in Parliament by members of the Economic Freedom Fighters, after the EFF asked when Zuma would pay back the Nkandla money. 'A leak at the same time when the EFF undermines the people of SA is too much of a coincidence,' said Duarte. Mantashe called on Madonsela not to get involved in politics and to stop behaving like a political institution. Full report on the News24 site

Mantashe also accused Madonsela of acting 'above the Constitution' and of casting SA in a negative light. According to Business Day, he accused Madonsela of speaking out on continuing investigations while on road shows in SA and abroad, which 'unavoidably' cast the country in a 'bad light'. 'Her intention to discredit the ANC and its leadership in government has been consistent,' Mantashe is quoted as saying. Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy Steven Friedman reportedly described the ANC's response as 'naturally defensive'. There was also 'a lot of smoke and mirrors', and the appearance of a closing of ranks by the party around the President was for 'public consumption'. The party was not as united around the President as it appeared, he said. Full Business Day report (subscription needed)

Senior ANC MP Naledi Pandor also took a swipe at the Public Protector yesterday, according to a Beeld report. It happened in the National Assembly. After DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen had noted an 'alarming tendency to show contempt for the Public Protector', Pandor reportedly said the ANC had the right to respond when 'constitutional institutions are used for a public witch-hunt'. 'There is no institution that can make statements and expect no response. Our Constitution doesn't suspend freedom of speech for specific individuals and not for others.' Full Beeld report

The Centre for Constitutional Rights has come out in Madonsela's defence, saying she is well within her rights to report on government's conduct. 'Apart from investigating maladministration and abuse of power, in terms of section 182, the Public Protector also has the power, as regulated by legislation, to 'report on that conduct' as she sees fit and in her sole discretion, 'take appropriate remedial action',' the CRC said in a statement recorded in a report on the News24 site. According to the CRC, recent criticism of Madonsela and her office was unnecessary. 'This criticism is unfounded, both in context of the Constitution as well as the Public Protector Act.' Full report on the News24 site

Meanwhile, Police Minister Nathi Nhleko says he is not in the process determining whether Zuma should pay back the Nkandla money, as instructed by the President. A Beeld report says quotes Nhleko as saying he will not do so until after the Nkandla matter is settled by Parliament. 'Only after Parliament has concluded the process and adopted a resolution about the report, will I investigate the Nkandla matter within the police portfolio.' Full Beeld report