Claims of respect for constitution about to be tested

It is unprecedented and its outcome will show whether our power elite really respects the office of the public protector and the powers conferred on it by our constitution.

Thuli Madonsela has, as a last resort, decided to take Communications Minister Faith Muthambi to court for refusing to meet her to discuss the minister's decision to endorse the SABC board's appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the public broadcaster's chief operations officer.

Muthambi is in contempt of Madonsela's office by refusing to give clear answers about why she endorsed the appointment of Motsoeneng.

This legal battle will reveal whether President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet respect the constitutional powers Madonsela holds, as Zuma has repeatedly asserted, or whether he feels free to disregard them.

It is unprecedented for a cabinet minister to defy a constitutional structure - but the president has had not a word to say.

If Muthambi continues to defy the law the government will be sending out a powerful statement to the effect that the executive can flout the constitution whenever it suits it.

If the minister is confident about her decision to endorse the Motsoeneng appointment, why is she refusing to meet Madonsela? Is she following the orders of her principals?

Madonsela was clear in her report in February. She found that Motsoeneng had lied about having a matric qualification, and had abused his powers by increasing his salary three times in one year while acting COO.

She recommended that Motsoeneng's appointment as COO not be made permanent and called for a qualified candidate to be appointed instead.

But then Muthambi asserted that Motsoeneng was the ideal man for the job.

As long as the minister refuses to share with us the lawyers' report that, she says, clears Motsoeneng of wrongdoing, we are bound to side with Madonsela.

The minister should remember that the public has a stake in the SABC and she has no right to play factional games that suit her agenda and that of those pulling her strings.