The president's Nkandla chicken coop is not the only one in the public protector's sights.

Noisy roosters in George also came under her glare, but thankfully not the mystery man who secured president Nelson Mandela's release from prison.Nor was the complaint against popular Afrikaans soapie 7de Laan pursued - because the "evidence" was destroyed when a laptop was hidden in a hot oven.Advocate Thuli Madonsela's office investigates more than 15,000 complaints a year, but some stand out for all the wrong reasons.story_article_left1For example, her office was asked to probe a tale by a man who claimed government agents were sending him "subliminal" messages.Madonsela's spokesman, Oupa Segalwe, said one of the most memorable cases was by a complainant who accused 7de Laan of stealing her life story to create a character, named "Gita", who was written into the storyline."The complainant claimed to have evidence to back up the allegations but when requested to share it, she said it was on a laptop that was stowed away in an oven and was destroyed when she mistakenly switched the oven on. The case could not go ahead because there was no evidence."Another complainant alleged that the producers of another soapie, Generations, stole his script to create the production. The complainant also alleged that the songs performed by the singer Ringo are his intellectual property," Segalwe said.There was insufficient evidence for the public protector to investigate a claim by a man who wanted government compensation for apparently securing Mandela's release from prison."We also had a complainant that claimed government agents were following him and sending 'subliminal' messages. During a consultation to get more details, he told the investigator the walls of the consultation rooms were speaking to him."This is similar to a complainant who alleged a university [where she studied] had implanted a chip in her head to control her by radio frequency. We referred her to the appropriate body," Segalwe said.Then there were the two neighbours in George, in the Western Cape, who were bickering over noisy roosters.block_quotes_start Officials visiting far-flung areas across the country...take complaints on the spot block_quotes_end"The one neighbour complains that the other's roosters make a noise every day from 2am until sunrise. The aggrieved neighbour complained to the municipality and when the matter remained unresolved, the complainant approached the public protector."Madonsela's office asked the municipality to establish if the neighbour had the necessary permits in line with the municipal bylaws to keep chickens at home."The neighbour has since been issued with a notice by the municipality to apply for a permit to keep chickens in a suburb and to erect a structure in which the chickens will be kept. A fine was also imposed on the neighbour.mini_story_image_hright1"The matter is not over because the neighbour is challenging the validity of the specific bylaw."The case is set for the courts," Segalwe said.The public protector's office had to educate the public on what falls within its jurisdiction."The public needs to know that we are not all about big cases. Our outreach programme sees officials visiting far-flung areas across the country to educate the public about these issues and also to take complaints on the spot."The deputy public protector, Advocate Kevin Malunga, said the bizarre complaints were in the minority.But they highlighted that the work of the public protector did not only entail corruption and maladministration investigations, Malunga said.The public protector's annual report is still being compiled for tabling in parliament at the end of August.It probed 15,286 cases in 2015-16, of which 10,667 were finalised.nairn@sundaytimes.co.za..