Public protector Thuli Madonsela will on Friday afternoon seek a postponement from the high court in Pretoria when the state pursues an interdict to stop her from releasing the Nkandla report.
A provisional report into how more than R206-million of state funds was spent on upgrading President Jacob Zuma's private Nkandla estate is currently in the hands of the government's security cluster made up of the state security, police and defence ministries. While these departments were due to send their comments and responses on the report to Madonsela's office on Friday, they instead headed for court.
Madonsela confirmed in a statement that her office received court papers on Friday morning, "indicating the state's intention to interdict and restrain her from releasing her provisional report on the security upgrades at the president's private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal to affected, implicated and interested parties for comments".
Madonsela has since briefed lawyers representing her office to request a postponement to allow her to prepare a proper response.
The public protector shared the provisional report with organs of state within the security cluster on Friday November 1, with a "return date" of Wednesday November 6. The deadline was extended to Friday November 8, after a request by the security cluster. The cluster requested a two-week extension to go through the report, but was granted only two days by the public protector. The security cluster also claimed it was not given a fair hearing.
Extensions
?Madonsela's spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said the public protector normally shared interim reports with a specified deadline for those given access to it. This period is normally up to 10 working days or two weeks, but parties can request an extension.
The security cluster made a special request to have access to the Nkandla report before complainants and respondents saw it, "with a view to commenting on whether or not it compromises the security of the president", according to the public protector.
If the security cluster is successful with obtaining the interdict, parties such as the Democratic Alliance, who are part of the complainants in this case, will not be given the report as planned.
Madonsela planned to give them access to the report soon after the security cluster returned it to her office.
Unlike in other cases, where the complainant would receive a copy of the preliminary report, Madonsela is being extra careful. Parties involved in this case would view the report "at the public protector's offices, in the presence of members of the investigation team, due to security reasons", according to the statement from her office.
Nkandla report clears Zuma
Meanwhile, the final report into the upgrade at Nkandla is yet to be released but Madonsela has already had to defend her office from both the ruling and opposition parties.
Independent newspapers reported on Tuesday that Madonsela's provisional Nkandla report clears Zuma of any wrongdoing, but paints a picture of senior government officials bending over backwards to please the president without his instructions.
Madonsela intends to make the final report public.