Ministers to pay Nkandla legal fees
ABORTED: APPLICATION TO STOP PUBLIC PROTECTOR’S REPORT
Further legal action against Thuli Madonsela is not excluded, says government spokesman.
The state security cluster has agreed to pay the legal costs of its aborted urgent application to stop the Public Protector from releasing her preliminary Nkandla report.
North Gauteng High Court Judge Neil Tuchten was yesterday informed that the application by the ministers of justice, police, defence and state security, as well as public works, had been withdrawn and that they had agreed to pay the legal costs involved.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa alleged in court papers the report contained a “plethora of breaches of state security” which ought to be identified for Thuli Madonsela to omit from her report.
He also alleged Madonsela would be acting illegally and open herself to criminal prosecution if she released the report without authorisation.
Madonsela hit back in an answering affidavit, saying the investigating team had been obstructed in its investigation. She denied the report contained any security breaches.
Madonsela was due to release the report to affected, implicated and interested parties last Saturday.
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe’s spokesman, Mthunzi Mhaga, yesterday defended the decision to approach the court, saying they had achieved what they wanted.
He said the security cluster would present its comments about the report to the Public Protector by end yesterday, but did not exclude the possibility of further legal action.
“The way forward will depend on how the Public Protector deals with our comments,” he said.
Asked about the apparent power struggle between government and the Public Protector and the damning allegations by each side against the other in court papers, Mhaga said: “There will always be legal and factual disputes.”
Mhaga said the applicants stood by their statement that the report contained breaches of security.
The way forward will depend on how the Public Protector deals with our comments Mthunzi Mhaga Spokesman for Justice Minister Jeff Radebe