It has emerged that Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela was given only an hour to respond to the security cluster requesting an extension on the time the state was given to comment on Jacob Zuma’s controversial Nkandla residence.
Earlier today, reports surfaced that the security cluster sent Madonsela a letter requesting more time for the state organs to review the report on Thursday, 7th November 2013. In this letter, it was stated that the Public Protector had 1 hour to respond to the request, failure to respond within the hour would lead to an assumption that she had declined.
Her spokesperson, Kgalalelo Masibi was qouted saying “The Public Protector was out of town….. and the State was made aware of this” from a statement released earlier today.
Madonsela felt that submitting to the State’s demands would compromise the report and be a grave injustice on all those affected, the statement continued. She was unwilling to leave the report for too long in the hands of the security cluster as she felt that this “….would prejudice… those that she had made provisional adverse findings against and those she had quoted as having provided evidence….”
The affected people had not yet received the report.
It was not in the public’s interest that the security cluster have exclusive access to the report.
The State’s security cluster was given the report on the 1st November 2013, with a deadline of the 6th of November 2013 to respond. This was as a result of the security cluster requesting that they view the report first, to ensure that the report didn’t endanger the safety of Zuma’s Nkandla residence.
Since then, the report has been delayed through what some have termed “deliberate tactics” by the security cluster.
