SABC’s Hlaudi Motsoeneng wrong - former public protector did investigate white people
This article is more than 7 years old
Former public protector Thuli Madonsela receives the Mahatma Gandhi Satyagraha Peace Award in Durban, South Africa, on November 7, 2016. Photo: Rajesh Jantilal/AFPThe South African Broadcasting Corporation’s group corporate affairs officer has accused former public protector Thuli Madonsela of not investigating white people during her tenure.
“When you check even the previous Public Protector [she] has been targeting black people. [She] has never targeted white people,” Hlaudi Motsoeneng told crowds outside the Cape Town High Court last week.
His claim, however, is incorrect.
Africa Check couldn’t comb through every investigation Madonsela conducted during her time as public protector from October 2009 to October 2016 but two investigations stood out.
In 2012, she investigated a complaint against the Western Cape premier, Helen Zille, regarding the awarding of a communications tender. Madonsela’s report found evidence of maladministration on the part of the premier’s department. However, Zille was not implicated.
Earlier this year, Madonsela investigated whether minister of trade and industry, Rob Davies, violated the Executive Ethics Code by failing to prevent a state event from turning into a political party rally. The complaint was lodged by the Democratic Alliance. The public protector did not find any evidence to substantiate the allegations.
These two investigations disprove Motsoeneng’s claim that Madonsela “never targeted white people” during her time as public protector. - 29/11/2016
(Note: Africa Check requested comment on Motsoeneng’s claims from both the public protector’s office and advocate Thuli Madonsela. At the time of publishing, we had not received a response. We will update this report if we do.)
Add new comment