Thuli Madonsela will hold back state capture report

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela will not release her state capture report on Friday — as a “courtesy to the court”, said her counsel in the Pretoria High Court on Friday morning.

However, her counsel, Azhar Bham SC, said Madonsela had finalised and signed off the report.

The report is the outcome of an investigation into complaints of an inappropriate relationship between President Jacob Zuma, other state officials and the Gupta family.

Bham said the report did not make any findings or recommendations against Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen.
The imminent release of the report led to a last-minute political showdown that played itself out in an urgent court case — with opposition parties the EFF, the UDM, COPE and the DA all seeking to have their say.

After Bham’s assurance that the report would not be released, EFF counsel Tembeka Ngcukaitobi made a new application, on behalf of the EFF, asking the court to order that the report be released immediately.

He expressed a concern that if there was a delay the report would never see the light of day.

Judge Dawie Fourie suggested a preservation order — to keep the report safe pending a decision of the court.

Most of the parties agreed to this plan, with Bham calling it “prudent”.
But Van Rooyen’s counsel, Stephan du Tout SC, said the court should not make an order that would bind incoming public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane — “when she is not here”.

The judge than stood the case down, so that all the parties could agree to a draft order, which would set out time frames for the exchange of court papers for the case to be heard next week, and for a preservation order.