Mkhwebane outlines documentation she will share with the Zondo Commission

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has revealed what information and documentation she will give to the commission of inquiry into state capture chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo regarding the office’s investigation into the Gupta family’s 2013 aeroplane landing at Waterkloof Air Force Base.

This after Mkhwebane’s predecessor, Thuli Madonsela called on her to share the findings of this investigation with the commission.

It was reported that Madonsela had also called Mkhwebane’s decision to close the Waterkloof investigation a “mystery“.

However, her successor said in a statement posted on YouTube on Thursday, that when she joined the office of the public protector, guidance was given to the office’s investigation team to finalise a complaint lodged by Colonel Christine Anderson who had complained that she was not afforded the opportunity to give her side of the story during a 2013 investigation by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster into the Gupta landing at Waterkloof.

“Then that’s when we utilised all the information in our possession and then we drafted the discretionary notice to Colonel Anderson where we were informing her we will be closing the matter because we have evidence that you were involved or you were consulted throughout this process of the JPCS cluster investigation and we finally closed the matter in 2017,” Mkhwebane said.

The incumbent public protector said she would share the information and documents with the commission to “clearly articulate what we have in our possession” and that her office had nothing to hide.

“[A]nd also I’m not doing this to show that I’m possibly reporting to the former public protector but it is just for the benefit of the public because this matter is of public and national interest,” Mkhwebane said.

The public protector said the documentation she would share with the commission, among others, includes:

• Correspondence between Madonsela and Colonel Christine Anderson.
• Madonsela’s request to the Democratic Alliance’s David Maynier for specifics on his complaint that the office of the public protector investigates the role of the executive in the Waterkloof landing.
• Correspondence between Madonsela and the former director-general (DG) of justice who was invited to a meeting to discuss the complaint.
• Correspondence between Madonsela and the former minister of justice, Jeff Radebe, where Madonsela was informing Radebe about the complaint and the latter promised to share the report compiled by the JCPS cluster. Mkhwebane said that there was proof that the former minister did provide Madonsela with a copy of the report.
• Correspondence between Madonsela and the lawyers of ambassador to the Netherlands Vusi Koloane who was invited to give details on the disciplinary process instituted against him by the department of international relations.
• Notice/letters to Mr Dlomo who was on the national intelligence coordinating committee as well as Dlomo’s affidavit which outlines their investigation into the matter.
• Documents relating to an interview conducted between the former commissioner of correctional services Tom Moyane, Madonsela and former state attorney Mr Mathebula.
• And the closing report which Mkhwebane said had been shared with the public on social media.

Mkhwebane said the office of the public protector was not being investigated by the commission but was cooperating with it “so that they can do the work which is at any rate part of the public protector’s remedial action”.

Mkhwebane said she was approached by the commission’s acting secretary who was enquiring how to go about requesting her office for information on the  Gupta Waterkloof landing as it would come under the spotlight at the inquiry.

Watch the statement below:

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