Gcaleka 'unable to confirm' political interference in public protector’s office

Acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka says she is unable to conclusively say there has been political or other interference in that office.

Gcaleka was responding to a question posed at the SA National Editors Forum breakfast on Tuesday after employees testified at the parliamentary inquiry into suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.

They said Mkhwebane did not want former Free State premier Ace Magashule and then agriculture MEC Mosebenzi Zwane to be implicated in alleged wrongdoing and maladministration that occurred in the Vrede dairy project.

The inquiry heard Mkhwebane instructed investigators not to make adverse findings against the two ANC politicians and refused to subpoena them when they did not co-operate with the investigation.

Gcaleka said on Tuesday she respected that there were colleagues and senior colleagues within the office who went to testify and said “this is what we were made to do and this is what led to an investigation going a different way”.

Gcaleka also said she respected courts have found the office had been biased in how it conducted some investigations and that has led to outcomes which the courts have set aside.

“In that manner, I cannot ignore that and say there has not been interference, nor it cannot be said there has been interference, whether it is political or not,” Gcaleka said.

“At this stage, I do not have the evidence of how bias or interference came about.

“I am unable to conclusively say there has been political or other kinds of interference.”

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