Cape Town - Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said on Wednesday a reasonable person would never think that she had concealed the Inspector-General of Intelligence (IGI) report into the so-called rogue unit when she was investigating the affairs of SARS.
Mkhwebane said she did not understand why people would come to such a conclusion – that she concealed possession of a report that was dropped anonymously at her office.
“A reasonable person will never think like that and a person who will assess and adjudicate this matter with an open mind will think like that,” she said.
Mkhwebane was testifying in the Section 194 inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
Her legal counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu asked her about the key source documents that were used in compiling the investigative report and the claims that she had concealed information about being in possession of the IGI report.
During her testimony, Mkhwebane took the committee through documents, including letters sent and received from the State Security Agency, IGI, and Minister of State Security.
“All these letters are dealing with the issue of the report,” she said.
Some of the documents were not listed due to their nature, the inquiry heard.
Mkhwebane said she was referring in one of the unlisted documents to the same IGI report and equipment used by the unit.
“The minister was saying you will be exposing the individuals, our sources, and even our intelligence trades and all those.”
Asked by Mpofu whether it would be justifiable for those who read the documents to say she was concealing the IGI report.
Mkhwebane said she could not understand why they would come to this conclusion.
“Being the Public Protector, receiving all kinds of information and a safe haven for whistle-blowers and receiving documents from all and sundry, my responsibility as the Public Protector was to get the document from the state institution, which is the custodian of this report.
“All these letters are very clear.
“The recording even indicates that I have this report anonymously dropped.
“Can you access the report, can you confirm you have the report - which was confirmed in the responses?” she said.
Cape Times