<h4>What the judges said</h4>
&#8220;We feel Thuli Mandonsela is a woman of substance who has inspired many people across Africa with her stand for the rule of law and against corruption. In seven years of hard work, she has spoken truth to power and helped keep the people running her country accountable. A difficult job she carried out with professionalism and integrity.&#8221;
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Her polite, welcoming, voice would make anyone feel at home. It is strange to see Thuli Madonsela – the towering advocate woman who has taken flak from politicians for years – at home, relaxed and flanked by her family. She ushers me into the lounge. We sit next to an open patio door, facing a cluster of colorful trees, with a welcome breeze easing this sweltering summer’s day. Every bit of furniture matches her unpretentious nature. African paintings on the walls; each ornament holds a story about her travels across the continent.
She looks good for a person who has just left office, in her own words, followed by missiles. Her biggest case so far has caused ructions – the so-called state capture report. She was investigating allegations made by South Africa’s Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas that he was a offered the job of Finance Minister by the billionaire Gupta family that has opened a can of worms.
The offer came, it is alleged, just before President Jacob Zuma fired the then Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in December 2015. When Jonas blew the whistle, former member of parliament Vytjie Mentor also alleged she was offered a cabinet post by brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta. The family has businesses, from coal mines to media companies, and were in partnership with President Zuma’s son. Former Government Communications and Information Systems head Themba Maseko also claimed the family unsuccessfully tried to bully him to put government advertising to their newspaper.
This report was one of the last acts in Madonsela’s seven turbulent years of speaking truth to power that took nerves of steel.
Her office, in the last days, was like a house of madness, she says. There were complaints to be investigated, last-minute interviews and many loose ends from multiple investigations.
On the very last day, she and her team worked through the night in an atmosphere leavened by banter and jokes.
“It was exhilarating, as a result I never really had the opportunity to feel sad about seeing my office for the last time because there was so much adrenaline, so much to be done and it was all done,” she says.
“Then there were curve balls of having being either sued or spending time with the lawyers. On the outside I was pretty calm but on the inside I would be thinking I have three hours to complete this document but these other things were coming, so I did feel some of the pressure. There was a bit of noise on the outside but the team that I worked closely with also stayed calm. I think the only time I saw some cracks was when we were told the president has lodged an application for an interdict and they thought it was the end of the road. I had anticipated these difficulties with some of the seniors, so when the younger ones got panicky about life overtaking the good work done, we didn’t panic. We told them to calm down and continue with the report as if they haven’t heard any news.”
Zuma had applied for a court interdict to stop the report’s release, saying he wasn’t given enough chance to respond. He also accused Madonsela of saying the report was not final, implying he was misled. Zuma withdrew the court challenge on the day of the hearing.
“I’ve never said it was not a final report. All in writing, I have always promised to issue two reports. Phase one would cover whatever we knew then and what should be done to fix it. It was going to look at ministerial appointments, Mentor and Jonas’ allegations. It would look at the president’s liability because of the 30-day requirement. Phase two would be on the Catholic Bishop’s request to look into Gupta-related companies and all licenses and related matter,” explains Madonsela
Madonsela’s report has left a trail of tears and paper leading to murky business dealings that the Gupta family denies.
“I recommended a commission of enquiry because this investigation cuts across ministries, the legislator, the executive and go into state-owned enterprises, it is bigger than the arms deal (South Africa’s arms procurement scandal) and if you’re going to do an investigation like that you obviously need a commission of enquiry.”
Madonsela says she doesn’t understand why the report was being challenged and also “got a sense that if the president wanted this matter to be investigated he would have long done so.”
“This gives a perception that is not in his favor because if somebody makes this allegation about his son and this person is a member of the cabinet, a normal person who has nothing to hide would look into it. That’s a question that people raise which shouldn’t be raised about the president,” she adds.
“We asked him a simple question like why did you fire Mr Nene?”
The president chose not to answer the question, Madonsela says.
Madonsela knows how it feels to field questions about a son. Her son Mbusowabantu took her official car while she was asleep, in 2012, and had an accident.
“It was very awkward because for me, I’ve been asked very difficult questions too, I couldn’t give a different answer to journalist. The issue about my son, I have given a consistent answer whether you’re the media or parliament. I was asked by parliament and I never even got a lawyer to answer those questions, so I don’t understand.”
It’s surprising that this woman, who has worked where few dare to tread, has regrets. She feels she should have encouraged someone to sue the government for depriving her office of resources. Organs of state are compelled by section 181 of the constitution to equip institutions like hers. Madonsela’s office didn’t have electronic data capturing.
“You have to go through the whole system manually to find out where that matter is. You’re also unable spot cases that aren’t moving. I think we should have stood up, it is threatening the functionality of that office,” bemoans Madonsela.
Her biggest regret, she says, was also leaving remuneration problems to the administration. Staff were unhappy with a heavy work and light salaries. Law firms handle four major cases a year while Mandonsela’s staff handled more than 50.
Madonsela says this means low morale, contrary to her successor Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s claim, before Parliament, that hinted at Madonsela’s management style.
“I wrote in the report that staff morale was a problem. I had explained that the main problem with staff morale was finances. People are getting too many cases and it is documented, there are memos at my desk all the time,” Madonsela explains.
“In other words, had it been me I would have explained to them, provided I have evidence. I would have said here is a memo, the provincial managers have taken us to court on some of those issues. She had to say she will improve staff morale. She can’t improve staff morale without being given money.”
Parliament invited Madonsela for her last appearance, on October 12, but this was postponed to October 19. This meant Mkhwebane would sit in parliament to present the 2015/16 Annual Report after a mere six days in office.
“I remember I was with the team when we got the notice. We laughed and said nothing here is surprising. We still wanted to find out why it was postponed, but no answer was given. For me it was about leaving graciously but I think it created a clumsy transition between me and my successor. She now had to find herself presenting a report that was not hers which required prior preparation for her to defend herself.”
She also feels there should have been more quiet conversations with the government around values and processes. Institutions with more or less similar functions of the public protector spend their time doing a lot of education, she says, to the executive around the laws they have passed. Her clashes with government ended up being about processes and powers, but at the core of the disputes was the enforcement of values.
“There’s a common narrative about wrong and right. Take Nkandla [the president’s homestead that received irregular non-security upgrades], it was always about what was the ethical standard that President Zuma should have complied with. What was the responsibility of the president?”
“We’re back to the same problem again with state capture. The essence of it was what was the responsibility of the president of this country when one of his own trusted deputy ministers says I’ve been offered a bribe to take the job of my colleague and pass decisions that favor the person that is offering me a bribe. If you’re a president of the country isn’t it your job to just find out if there this is happening since the person who is saying this is implicating your friend and your child or somebody you call a friend publicly,” says Madonsela.
“It’s just an issue about ethics. Themba Maseko accuses you publicly as the president of the country that you asked him to help those people, don’t say I never did that. Shouldn’t you say I have instituted a commission of enquiry to find out why this young fellow is lying about me.”
“These people may well be lying and if they are lying they should be called to order but you need a process that checks out whether or not they telling the truth. As long as nothing is done about it you will always have this question mark. It is creating a dysfunctional executive, it’s creating fractured relationships but it’s also saying to the world there are improper influences in the state of South Africa but it may well be not true.”
These are conversations she believes would have helped cabinet with its responsibilities as stipulated in the Executive Members Ethic Act under section 195 and 237 of the constitution. Her office was inundated with requests to investigate cases she would rather not, like state capture. There were many reasons. Hands were full, she was on her way out, cases should be dealt with on last in last out basis but this case was brought under the Executive Members Ethics Act. When a case is brought in through this Act it compels the Public Protector to investigate. According to this law, cases are also supposed to be completed in 30 days, which also left her with no time.
Madonsela had to make tough choices in standing up for the truth that won her the admiration of many Africans and won her the title of FORBES AFRICA’s 2016 Person of the Year – a fitting send off for a fearless woman who never backed down even in the face of death threats.
“My children are relieved. My brother is just relieved that I made it out alive. That was his message the day I finished on the 14th, saying “sisi siyabonga ukuthi labantu abaku bulalanga (Sister, we are grateful these people didn’t kill you). I hope we keep it that way because with the state capture report, the missiles are following me. I’m done, this is just revenge, I can’t harm them in any way whatsoever,” she laughs.
Many people want to hear from this elegant and softly-spoken daughter of a domestic worker and taxi driver; she has filled her diary until the end of the year. Thereafter she heads off for either Harvard, where she may study guidance and governance, or lecturing at Oxford University. It’ll be a lot quieter there.
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‘Sister, We Are Grateful These People Didn’t  Kill You’

Three thousand people camped outside a courthouse for a man they didn’t know until the day before.
He arrived at court at 11:20AM in a white Toyota Corolla with tinted windows. At 1PM, the investigating officer said he forgot to bring the affidavit for the case and had to fetch it. This delayed arguments.
Crowds covered all three exits of the court, vowing to stop their man from being taken away. They even stopped police, who appeared unusually tame, to search cars to check whether their man was inside.
Inside the court, was Evan Mawarire, a pastor first charged with incitement of violence and then for trying to overthrow the government. This, after months of posting social media videos criticizing the Zimbabwean government. The videos tapped into mounting anger over high unemployment and corruption which sparked rare peaceful protests against President Robert Mugabe.
Mawarire appeared in a packed Harare Magistrates’ Court, also known as Rotten Row, draped in the Zimbabwean flag after spending the night in police cells as officers searched his house, church and office. Scores of lawyers in court waved their qualifications in the air when Mawarire was asked who would be representing him.
Outside, it was like church. Pastors from different dominations led the crowd in prayer every 30 minutes as the judge heard arguments.
“All we want is Mawarire back with no scratch. Zimbabwe shall never be a colony again. He has helped us not to be afraid anymore,” says one of Mawarire’s supporters, Kenneth Handina.
People sang and danced to gospel songs, even likening Mawarire to Jesus on the cross. They also sang struggle songs such as “Senzeni na?” –“What have we done?” in isiNdebele – an anti-apartheid song.
“This is what this government does and has been known to do. They always want to make sure we live in fear and when they say jump we follow,” says jobless graduate, Vimbai Moyo.
As the sun went down, the crowd grew. Some brought food and candles.
“We have been here since morning. Even if they delay, we won’t go. If we have to sleep here we will. We are all in this together,” says another Mawarire supporter, Allan Hunter.
The lawyers argued, successfully, that the charge of subversion had been added at the last minute, denying him a fair trial.
At about 7PM, Magistrate Vakai Chikwekwe ruled that the state had broken its own law and Mawarire was free to go. The crowd erupted. There was a surge towards the main entrance of the court with the crowd singing “Ichokwadi Mwari Varipo”— “It is true, God is there” in chiShona, the tongue of Harare.
As the pastor emerged, people waved their hands in the air and jumped in celebration. They hugged, ululated and pushed towards him. Many sat around him as a sign of respect as he addressed the crowd amid flickering camera flashes. A handful climbed trees for a clearer view.
“I want to thank you, all Zimbabweans, because we are now united. May the Lord bless you all because the country you are building is for your children; let’s continue building, don’t stop. God bless you all,” says Mawarire.
As he left, people danced on the street, hooted car horns and sang. Many cursed the police for the arrest and vowed to speak up against Mugabe’s regime.
“We don’t want politicians trying to capitalize on this. It is up to us as citizens to reclaim our country from this government so we can have a better life. If the government of Zimbabwe was not threatened before, maybe now it’s time to be,” says Tinashe Gambuza.
Zimbabwe had not seen anything like this in over a decade. As we left, a group of guys danced on top of a car singing yet another struggle song, – “Get ready mama and prepare for your freedom; freedom is coming tomorrow”. With that, everybody disappeared into the cold night.

“He Has Helped Us  Not To Be Afraid Anymore”

For most of 2014, Thuli Madonsela’s name has been kicked around the political scene like a tin can.
The fight between her and the South African government is all about Nkandla – the private home of South African President Jacob Zuma that sits on a vast tract of land. It cost over R200 million ($18 million) of, supposedly, taxpayers’ money to renovate. The president claims to have taken out an R800,000 ($71,000) loan for the purposes of the renovations. Besides the thatched huts built for his family and the beautiful landscape of the KwaZulu-Natal province, its best feature, by far, is what has become known as the ‘fire pool’. It has been explained away by his spin doctors, for it is not a recreational swimming pool but a water reservoir in case of fire.
Who would be bold enough to investigate these allegations against the head of state? That woman is public protector Madonsela.
“I don’t see it as me versus the government, it’s my team versus maladministration. For any government, if they want to govern in perpetuity, maladministration is an enemy because your ability to govern, or the authority people give you to govern, is withdrawn one piece at a time if there is maladministration,” she says.
The investigation began in December 2011 when a citizen lodged a complaint to the public protector’s office regarding how the country was spending its money. A few months later, another citizen lodged a complaint against the president, under the Executive Members’ Ethics Act, accusing him of using money he was not entitled to. Madonsela had 30 days to respond.
“Firstly, when the complaint was made, I didn’t think that it was going against the president because procurement is not a presidential matter. So at no stage did I think there would be any direct involvement with the president.”
The public protector’s office compiled information from the ministers, some of whom were also under investigation. The investigation team began asking harder questions, which raised a few red flags.
“The minister of police said he was going to give us information, so we were expecting it. Then he said when he comes back from his honeymoon, he will give us the necessary information. When he came back he wrote us a letter saying that he doesn’t understand why we were doing this investigation because as ministers they have everything under control and they are investigating [the matter].”
“In reality most of the cases that take our time on a day-to-day basis are from ordinary people, who are just grappling with being denied one or another service. Usually people who are struggling with an ID or permanent residence, people who are struggling with a grant and also people who have been unfairly treated in employment situations in government and who can’t go to the CCMA, or can’t go to the public service commission, or who would go to those but the service processes take forever.”
The frenzy has thrust Madonsela in the public eye. Many people expect her to be a loud and aggressive woman.
“Some man once saw me and he seemed almost disappointed in meeting me, we were doing a walk about the mall and he said to me, ‘Oh aunty you’re just a little girl, I thought you were taller.’ Then I said to my team, ‘He always made me feel guilty that I’m not taller,’” she laughs.
In her spare time, when she’s not flexing her muscles, she enjoys reading magazines and listening to classical music. At home, she jokingly admits, her children often remind her that she is not the ‘PP’, but simply mom.
“I think other people fear for my family more than I do. My view on it, and this is the view my team takes, is that if anyone wanted to do anything wrong to me they would have done it at the early stages of this investigation. You don’t let the investigation complete and then you want to do something to someone because what would that achieve?”
After her term in office, Madonsela has set her sights on writing.
“When I finish, for a year or two, I would like to focus on writing, writing about the potential of this office [of the public protector], not just for South Africa, but for Africa and the world. It has enormous potential, but it’s not fully known, understood and exploited because it’s an office that has potential for transformative work.”

The Tiger On The President’s Back

When Pistorius appeared in court on June 4, his case was postponed to August 19 for further investigations. The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court was packed with journalists, who started arriving at 5AM. There was pushing and shoving to gain entry into the court building. Ten seats were reserved for the families of the accused and deceased.
Pistorius and his family were met by a large crowd of media outside the court house. Pistorius was wearing a charcoal gray suit with a blue shirt and tie, as he took his seat in the dock. The Blade Runner, as he is known, turned his back on photographers as he was greeted by his brother Carl, sister Aimee and uncle Arnold, before the proceedings. A clean shaven Pistorius spent the proceedings standing up.
It was a short court appearance, where the state asked the court for the matter to be postponed to August to complete the investigation. The docket is still with police. Pistorius’ legal team, led by Advocate Barry Roux, did not oppose the postponement for the appearance that will fall on the day Steenkamp would have turned 30.
After the appearance, when asked why the date of the postponement fell on Steenkamp’s birthday, Medupe Simasiku of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said: “The date was an agreement between the two parties but we were not aware it was the deceased’s birthday. We are satisfied with the progress of the investigation and everything that has been done. We want to see this case going forward fair and square,” he says.
Simasiku says that they are hoping to have the docket in their possession before August 19. But legal experts say the case will be postponed once again, most likely, as the defense team would not have had enough time to study the docket to prepare their case.
Law expert, Advocate Percy Tshabalala, who is not involved in the case, says that once the investigations are concluded, the matter has to be set down and a trial date agreed on.
“The matter will probably be postponed for a trial date and this will give the defence time to prepare. From there, he [Pistorius] will have to plead and then the case will be under way,” says Tshabalala.
It has been established that the delay is due to outstanding forensic results. Police are still to give a report on the forensic analysis of the toilet door through which Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend. The door is being studied to establish the trajectory of the bullets Pistorius fired, which would indicate where he was standing and whether he was wearing his prosthesis.
After being told the matter was postponed, by acting chief magistrate Daniel Thulare, Pistorius softly replied: “Yes your honor”.
After telling Pistorius of the postponement, Thulare took a swipe at the media. This was brought on by graphic photographs of the crime scene, shown by British satellite news channel SkyNews.
Thulare warned against what he referred to as “scandalous and possibly contemptuous” reporting and trial by the media. The photographs showed the bullet holes and blood-spattered bathroom, where Pistorius shot Steenkamp. Thulare asked the state to investigate how information related to the case had come into the public domain. He says this kind of reporting can hinder judicial processes.
“Anyone who has information that might assist at arriving at decision must approach the NPA. It is important that we rally behind the call. It is important that we invite our colleagues from around the world to respect the republic’s processes,” says Thulare.
Pistorius’ family has also lambasted the publishing of the photographs. In a statement on his website, the family says: “We were shaken by the graphic images, leaked into the public domain this week, of the accident scene at Oscar’s house. It has always been our plea that the legal process be allowed [to] run its course with integrity. The leaking of evidential material into the public domain, before the court case, does not advance this process. We continue to have great faith in the South African legal justice system and believe that Oscar’s account of what happened on that terrible night in February will be borne out by the evidence that the defence team will lead in court”.
Pistorius, who is arguably South Africa’s best-known athlete, enjoys support from all over the world. Messages flood his website.
“I felt deeply saddened by the images that appeared today of Oscar entering the court room and not being left alone. He could hardly get to the building. Oscar, please believe that there are those of us who truly believe in you and I will continue to pray for you. My support will not waiver. Oscar I know that the courts, in the end, will do the right thing. Stay strong Oscar and don’t ever forget that you are a good man with a good heart, who made a terrible mistake. Lots of prayers are coming your way,” wrote one supporter.

Tag: Investigations

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

‘Sister, We Are Grateful These People Didn’t Kill You’

“He Has Helped Us Not To Be Afraid Anymore”

The Tiger On The President’s Back

The Pain Of The Blade Runner