Kevin Malunga says he ‘washes his hands’ of Mkhwebane’s reports
The outgoing deputy public protector is using his last few months in office to make it clear that 'it wasn't me'.
Deputy Public Protector Kevin Malunga. Picture: Gallo Images
Outgoing deputy public protector Kevin Malunga has once again said all he can to drive home the point that he had little to nothing to do with numerous public protector reports that have taken a beating in court.
He already said in a televised interview in July that he had played no part in Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s report into the Absa bank/Bankorp bailout involving the Reserve Bank, which has been her most humiliating court defeat to date.
The Constitutional Court ultimately upheld a High Court order that Mkhwebane should pay a punitive personal cost order of 15% of the Reserve Bank’s legal fees.
She was found to have acted in bad faith and even been dishonest.
Malunga revealed shortly afterwards that, under former public protector Thuli Madonsela, there had been a think-tank process involving far more investigators in the public protector’s head office and satellite offices to ensure that reports were quality assured, but Mkhwebane had scrapped this soon after taking office.
She had instead appointed a quality assurance investigator.
Now Malunga, who leaves office in December and has no interest in running for a second seven-year term, has expanded on his views in an interview with the Sunday Times.
He called for old quality control mechanisms to be brought back, or for something similar to be instituted, as a way to protect against reports being so easily challenged or overturned in the courts.
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