Media Statement

Date: Monday, 28 November 2016

Attention: All Media Houses
For immediate release
Subject: Public Protector clarifies incorrect media reports
Public Protector Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane has noted with sadness a report carried
in the Sunday Times newspaper on 27 November 2016, alleging that she has
pressed charges against her predecessor.
According to the article, the basis for the charges is the alleged leak of an audio
recording of a meeting between her predecessor and President Jacob Zuma, which
was held as part of the so-called State Capture investigation.
The article, under the headline Zuma guns for Thuli, also claimed that Ms Vytjie
Mentor was among the aggrieved persons that approached the Public Protector over
the alleged leaking of the recordings of the meetings with the former Public Protector
as part of the investigation.
It is not true that Adv. Mkhwebane laid charges against her predecessor. Instead,
she opened a case at the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria, requesting an
investigation into the alleged leaks to establish if they amount to a breach of section
7(2) of the Public Protector Act.
The decision to open a case was informed by complaints from the Presidency and
the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly. In addition to these, Adv.
Mkhwebane received a media enquiry from Noseweek magazine, in which the
publication claimed to be in possession of a recording of her predecessors meeting
with Ms Mentor, also relating to the State Capture investigation.

In the past few weeks, there was another newspaper article based on what
purported to be a recording of another meeting between Adv. Mkhwebanes
predecessor and Economic Freedom Fighters leader, Mr. Julius Malema. This
meeting, too, related to the State Capture matter.
Adv. Mkhwebane is concerned that these alleged leakages of evidence could
compromise the trust that the public has in her office. It is this concern that led to her
opening a case for investigation.
In order to maintain the credibility of the Public Protector South Africa and for the
people to trust the institution we need to safeguard whatever evidence such people,
including whistle-blowers, give to us, she said.
Adv. Mkhwebane wishes to point out that only the above information was shared with
a Sunday Times journalist during an interview in Durban on Saturday, 26 November
2016. It is not clear how the newspaper interpreted the information in a manner it did.
The Public Protector is further saddened by the harmful statements attributed to Ms
Mentor following the Sunday Times story. She will take up her grievances with both
Ms Mentor and the Sunday Times privately.
End
For more information, contact:
Ms Kgalalelo Masibi
Spokesperson: Public Protector South Africa
Tel: 012 366 7006
Cell: 079 507 0399
Email: kgalalelom@pprotect.org