#EFF Condemns the attacks on the Public Protector; Hand OFF Thuli Madonsela!

03 December, 2013

Economic Freedom Fighters condemns the Zuma apologists (ANCYL and SACP) for the quick insinuation that the Nkandla report is leaked by the Public Protector. In as much as the leaking of reports should be avoided it is simplistic and irresponsible to immediately insinuate that the Public Protector is the first suspect.

If the office of the Public Protector gives courtesy and prerogative to affected parties to peruse her findings and recommendations on contents she will be publishing anyway, it is unlikely that it benefits her to leak the report. The most likely parties to leak the report in the case of Nkandla is the Security Cluster as it benefits them in order to discredit the work of the Public Protector since it does not favour the President they so much fought to protect.

They would only leak the report because they could not stop it from being published, thus providing grounds to discredit the Public Protector and politicise a simple case of corruption and nepotism; crimes Zuma is committing against the people.

The apologists' calls for investigations are also trying to posit Zuma as the "innocent poor victim", which is consistent with how the man has managed to avoid accounting for his actions and answering to serious allegations of corruption in the past.

Society must avoid buying into the propaganda that Zuma is being targeted or he is an "innocent victim". These are mere attempts seeking to divert attention from the critical questions on the table, the idea that a man in the highest office has been embezzling public funds for personal gain.

After the announcement about measures to be taken by the office of the Public Protector to avoid leaking in the future - thataffected and implicated parties will no longer get full provisional reports. Instead, they will be furnished with information or parts of the report that relate to them for purposes of soliciting their comments - it seems a desperate attempt to still make noise about the leaking of the report on Nkandla and not focus on the most important issue on the table; that the most powerful man in the country is "the mother of all eating" who went on to knowingly deceive parliament and the public.

The Public Protector must be given space and time to release her findings, as well as recommendations on the Nkandla investigation. Society must be defended from any attempts to delay and discredit the legitimate right to hear how the President of the republic used public funds to upgrade his home and then falsely and knowingly claimed that it is for security enhancement.

EFF is adamant that Zuma must do the honourable thing taken the seriousness of the allegations on him and resign from position of President of the Republic. In addition, he must be charged for the crime of corruption and be prosecuted in a court of law.

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, December 3 2013

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