Thuli Madonsela has less than five months left in office, but she's not going quietly. The softly spoken advocate, who was appointed public protector in 2009, is about to tackle a case which could be as significant as her Nkandla investigation, which humbled President Jacob Zuma and put it beyond doubt that her findings are legally binding, and not mere ''recommendations''.Madonsela is about to go once more where the ANC fears to tread.Her latest assignment is to probe allegations of state capture by the Guptas, or as she put it yesterday, ''specifically whether or not the government . . . and specifically the president unlawfully allowed the Gupta family to choose ministers and other occupants of high office".Madonsela said she needed more resources to carry out her inquiry, which she expected to be completed before her term expires in October.Cynics might suggest that she should not hold her breath on this score.There seem to be quite a few people in the upper echelons of the ruling party who would be fairly keen to avoid a proper investigation of the sway the Guptas may have in government.Whether she gets the additional funds or not, you can bet your bottom dollar that Madonsela will be thorough and relentless in her pursuit of the truth.Both the Guptas and the president have vehemently denied allegations that the influential family has been seeking to peddle ministerial posts, but the prospect of Madonsela in full-pursuit mode cannot be one they will relish.It is likely that her investigation will go much further than the recent whitewash engineered by the ANC for the sake of party unity in an election year.It seems that, finally, the damning allegations of Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas, former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan, former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor and former government communications chief Themba Maseko will be given a fair hearing...