President Jacob Zuma's homestead in Nkandla. (Gallo)
"The inspection was part of the public protector's investigation into allegations of improper conduct regarding security upgrades at the property," her spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi said.
She said ordinarily the public protector would not reveal details of a pending investigation, in compliance with the Public Protector Act.
"The public protector is therefore only confirming her visit to Nkandla on the basis that the matter is already in the public domain," she said.
Masibi said Madonsela was still "waiting for a few bits of information" to complete her investigation.
"Upon receipt of the outstanding information, the public protector will finalise her provisional report, which will only be shared with the parties involved with a view to soliciting their comments," she said.
"Once the comments have been received, the public protector will consider them and, to the extent possible, factor them into the final report, which will then be released to the public."
Madonsela request
The defence ministry said earlier that the decision by Zuma to accede to Madonsela's request for the visit came after a meeting with ministers in the security cluster.
Last month, Madonsela was quoted as saying her report into alleged irregularities in the Nkandla security upgrade was 99% ready.
She is investigating whether state money was abused for security upgrades at Zuma's homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.
In January, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said government had spent R206-million on upgrades and consultants. – Sapa