South Africa's Public Protector - Ms Thuli Madonsela - is seen by most people as the "moral conscience" of the new democratic country. But at the same time she has come under scurrilous attacks from leaders and members of the ruling ANC - with one top leader even claiming that she is a CIA spy. This follows after Ms Madonsela has found in her investigations and reports that President Jacob Zuma and his family had benefited unduly from security upgrades at his Nkandla rural homestead. The taxpapers' money spent amounted to nearly 250-million rand. Madonsela also called on Zuma to repay a few millions that were used for non-security upgrades. Subry Govender went Behind The Headlines:
(Advocate Thuli Madonsela)
"It is common cause that in the name of security, government built for the President and his family in his private residence - a visitors' centre, a cattle kraal, a chicken run, a swimming pool and an amphitheatre among others. The President and his family clearly benefited from this."
It's observations like these by Thuli Madonsela into the nearly 250-million rand upgrades at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead that has earned her brickbats and condemnations from some top leaders and ordinary members of the ruling ANC.
Fifty-two-year-old Madonsela, who was born in the world -famous township of Soweto in Johannesburg to working class parents, came into prominence in 2009 after she was appointed as the Public Protector by President Zuma.
A qualified lawyer, she graduated from the University of Swaziland and the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. She previously worked for several trade unions as a legal adviser and also for several government departments since 1994.
Since her appointment, she earned praises and support for her investigations into maladministration, corruption and other mal-practices in several government departments, local governments and government officials and leaders.
Among those who she exposed over the past few years for corrupt practices include a former chief of the South African Police, Bheki Cele; the Chief Operations Officer of the state broadcaster - SABC , audi Motseneng; and the chairperson of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC), Ms Pansy Thakula.
The ruling ANC now wants her out and has embarked on an intensely abusive campaign against her just because she was brave enough to expose the machinations involving the upgrades of President Zuma's Nkandla homestead.
(Gwede Mantashe)
The secretary general of the ruling ANC, Gwede Mantashe, and the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Kebby Maphatsoe, were among the top ANC leaders who pulled no punches. They accused her of interfering in the politics of the country. These were just some of their attacks on Madonsela:
Gwede Mantashe: "The Public Protector must get out of the political space, leave us as political parties to fight it out to sort ourselves out."
(Kebby Maphatsoe)
and Kebby Maphatsoe:
"You know in exile you would identify a person by his or her actions that this one is an enemy agent so her actions in that office of undermining any institutions, she thinks she's god."
Then in yet another contemptuous outburst only this past weekend, a member of parliament and top leader of the ANC's alliance partner, the South African Communist Party, called on Madonsela not to think that she was above reproach. He was addressing a group of his supporters in the town of Port Elizabeth.
(Buti Manamela)
It was Buti Manamela: "But as much as we respect and must protect public institutions such as the office of the Public Protector, it must be repeated over and over again that Advocate Thuli Madonsela is not God. It does not mean that everything she says is right, is 100 percent correct."
Political scientists, Constitutional law experts and ordinary members of the public are worried at the scathing attacks against the Public Protector.
They say that the Public Protector is merely doing her job and she should be congratulated for exposing maladministration and corruption in all areas of Government instead of being vilified by the ruling party.
(Dr Zakele Ndlovu)
Dr Zakele Ndlovu is a senior political scientist based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban:
"I think it is totally uncalled for. I think the people who have been attacking her are only trying to please the President. I think deep down they know that she is someone who is doing her job, who is not willing to back down who takes her job very very seriously."
Ordinary South Africans are also concerned that the ANC leaders have gone too far in their attacks on Madonsela:
This is Dr Bhekethemba Mngomezulu of Durban: "My observation is that as far as I am concerned she has done a stirling job in terms of giving credibility to the office of the Public Protector. On that one I think she has done exceptionally well."
Ms Nonhlanhla Nzama: "I think people are nervous because she's investigating what she is supposed to investigate and it's unfortunate that the person she has investigated its the President and people are just scared.
(Prof Karthy Govender)
Professor Karthy Govender, a leading South African constitutional law expert and commentator, believes South Africans - especially those within Government - should be protecting the Public Protector. He is the head of the Department of Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal:
"We should be protecting the office of the Public Protector. I think everyone that makes comments, adverse comments, especially those that hold high office have to ask what impact their comments are having on ordinary people and what impact it has on the office of the Public Protector. They need to be responsible in the comments that they make because these comments feed into perceptions and miscommunications, stereotypes and misperceptions and it doesn't help the situation."
Advocate Madonsela, besides her work as the Public Protector, is also involved in numerous human rights and anti-racism organisations - promoting good governance, respect for human rights and the upholding of the rule of law. She does not only travel the length and breadth of South Africa promoting corrupt-free governance - but also visits countries on the continent on the same mission. She is the Executive Secretary of the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (AOMA) - a position she has held since April 2010.
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