Police have launched a high level investigation following complaints of death threats against Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana, the office of the national police commissioner confirmed on Monday.
Director Sally de Beer said: ”Police received a complaint from Mr Mushwana last week to the effect that he has been getting death threats via SMS messages on his cellphone.
De Beer could not elaborate on the type of messages received as they ”form part of investigation”.
”We are looking into the matter and if there are positive results in the future we will take the information to court.”
De Beer said police were working with Mushwana, but would ”step up security if necessary”.
The death threats come after a Mushwana report which found it had been ”unfair and improper” for national director of public prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, to have said publicly that there was a prima facie case of corruption against deputy president Jacob Zuma but that Zuma would not be prosecuted.
The report also said Ngcuka and former justice minister Penuell Maduna failed to co-operate with Mushwana when he was investigating a complaint against Ngcuka.
Maduna responded by saying Mushwana was the ”saddest case I have had to look at, intellectually”. Ngcuka said he felt sorry for Mushwana as he had no backbone.
Ngcuka issued a media statement in August 2003 saying there was a prima facie case of corruption against Zuma over the multi-billion rand arms deal, but he would not prosecute him as the chance of success was too slim. Following Ngcuka’s statement, Zuma complained to the public protector.
During an address at the Institute of Directors in Cape Town recently, Ngcuka apologised for losing his temper with Mushwana in public last weekend.
However, Ngcuka maintains that the Public Protector’s report ”remains totally unacceptable”.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the SABC, Mushwana declared that he had stepped up security for himself. – Sapa