Lawyer's Nkandla fumbling gets Twitter buzzing

National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete's lawyer Lindi Nkosi-Thomas gained instant fame on social media after she fumbled through her submissions in the Nkandla matter in the Constitutional Court yesterday, says a News24 report. She raised her voice, used dramatic hand gestures, and occasionally stood in silence before the judges after they asked her questions. Nkosi-Thomas was asked if the National Assembly had erred in how it approached the remedial action recommended by the Pubic Protector in her report on the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead. ‘Did the National Assembly fail to exercise oversight of the President as a member of executive,’ Justice Edwin Cameron asked. After mumbling, Nkosi-Thomas conceded, ‘Parliament took a wrong position.’ Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke sought clarity. ‘Did the National Assembly err in the manner in which it approached the remedial action taken by the Public Protector in the view that accountability kicks in on the side of the executive? Or are you leaving the matter in our hands,’ he asked. ‘I haven't been instructed on that issue,’ she responded. Nkosi-Thomas also said Madonsela could not dictate to Parliament what to do. She said enforcing her remedial action without scrutiny would amount to dictatorship.

Full Fin24 report