At least 28 people are vying to replace Malunga, and he offered a few words of advice to whoever gets his job, particularly that they should do all they could not to be a political “lackey”.
The top names in the race for deputy public protector include Robert McBride, the former head of police watchdog Ipid, advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa (National Heritage Council CEO), the SA Human Rights Commission’s acting head of legal services, advocate Buang Jones, and former ANC MP advocate Loyiso Mpumlwana.
The portfolio committee on justice and correctional services has called for public comments on the names of the 28 applicants/nominees, the majority of whom are advocates.
Observers, however, see it as a close contest between Mancotywa, Mpumlwana and Jones.
Both Mancotywa and Mpumlwana have served in ANC structures, including the national and the provincial legislatures, while Mancotywa was once an MEC for sport, arts and culture in Eastern Cape.
Mancotywa’s nomination for the position came from Tembile Yako.
The candidate holds an LLB degree and a post-graduate management qualification.
Mpumlwana was nominated by advocate M Matyumza and Inkosi advocate Mwelo Nonkoyana, and has an LLB with a number of post-graduate law and management qualifications.
Jones had been with the South African Human Rights Council for a long time, having served as its communications head in the Free State and later the commission’s Gauteng head.
He holds an LLM (corporate law) degree and was nominated by Anna Mapaseka Madonsela and Jacob George Mathabathe.
Some have said McBride could make an interesting and even good deputy public protector, considering his performance as head of Ipid. He has a B Tech (law) degree and a BA in international politics.
However, the public protector this week found against him in a report, and he called her work “irrational”, which might make his first day on the job somewhat awkward if he gets it.
Mkhwebane found that McBride’s appointment of a candidate to an Ipid position that had not existed before amounted to cumulative and progressive irregular expenditure and was a violation of the Public Finance Management Act.
(Compiled by Charles Cilliers. Additional reporting, Eric Naki).
