By Sam Mkokeli

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela is to seek Parliament’s protection against police "intimidation and dirty tricks" to which she says she has been subjected since she began investigating commissioner Bheki Cele’s police headquarters lease.

Ms Madonsela said at a press briefing yesterday that the police had — for a second time — interfered with her work.

"People are striking at me as if we are at war," she said. "Up to now, I thought I was on the same side as government."

This is an indication of a breakdown of trust between her and government leaders.

She described The Star’s front- page report yesterday, which said there was a warrant out for her arrest, as a "malicious smear".

The report accused her of doing business with the South African Law Reform Commission while she served there as a commissioner . She said her company’s work with the commission was above board and government leaders were informed about it. The breakdown of trust between the government and her office means President Jacob Zuma may have to get involved in a matter that involves a powerful African National Congress (ANC) politician like Gen Cele.

Ms Madonsela is a human rights and constitutional lawyer who was involved in the drafting of SA’s post-apartheid constitution as a technical adviser.

A former trade unionist, she has no links to the ANC exile community of which Mr Zuma was a central figure.

Yesterday Ms Madonsela spoke of her mounting fear and frustration. She sounded distrustful of Cabinet ministers who claimed not to know of her pending arrest — in the same way none of them knew about the March police visit to her offices.

"I called the minister of justiceJeff Radebe. He had never heard of it. At least that is what he said," she said referring to a conversation she had with Mr Radebe on Tuesday about the police investigation .

She said the two police intelligence officials who visited her office in March demanding documents related to the lease are back at work. She had never been contacted about any investigation into their actions. She has written to the police asking why the officials were back at work.

Her lead investigator’s computer had been hacked before the probe of the Pretoria lease was completed, Ms Madonsela said.

Linked with the intimidation of Sunday Times reporters who broke the story about the police building leases, this raises the spectre of apartheid-era police dirty-tricks campaigns. Ms Madonsela said she would request a meeting with Max Sisulu, the speaker of the National Assembly to discuss her safety.

She reminded government leaders of their stated commitment to the fight against corruption, which her office was helping to win.

Her duty was to make sure that "contracts by the state are done in terms of due process, are given to competent people and pricing does not amount to the looting of public property".

In her interim report on the Pretoria lease, Ms Madonsela found Gen Cele had breached the constitution and the Public Finance Management Act because the R1,17bn deal to rent the building from businessman Roux Shabangu was not agreed to in a fair, transparent and cost-effective manner. In the case of the Durban lease, she found Gen Cele’s failure to ensure that the procurement process complied with legal requirements and prescripts resulted in the invalid conclusion of the agreement.

In her interim report, Ms Madonsela rejected Gen Cele’s argument that he was at the mercy of his officials, some of whom had ignored his decision to withdraw all delegation of authority for contracts exceeding R500m.

Her final report on both leases will be released next Thursday.

Several organisations said yesterday that the claims of fraud and corruption against Ms Madonsela were an attempt to intimidate her.

"We call upon all South Africans who care about the rule of law and the chapter nine institutions to join together in defence of the public protector," the Council for the Advancement of the Constitution said.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions said the imminent arrest of Ms Madonsela "looks suspicious".

The Law Society of SA called on Gen Cele and Mr Radebe to probe the smear "speedily".

Source: Business Day

Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge