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Legalbrief   |   your legal news hub Friday 14 August 2026

Public Protector explains why it didn’t act on whistle-blower’s complaint

The Public Protector has defended its failure to get to grips with a matter that became SA’s first case in which a whistle-blower – Mike Tshishonga, who had publicly disclosed corruption and nepotism in the liquidations industry – received compensation for exposing corruption.

Tshishonga, who was Deputy Director-General in the Department of Justice, also disclosed that the Minister of Justice at the time, Penuel Maduna, had insisted on having his friend, Enver Motala, appointed in lucrative cases. Tshishonga had been sidelined over his refusal to appoint Motala, and subsequently made the public disclosures that led to his dismissal, says a report on The Citizen site. Spokesperson Charles Phahlane said the Public Protector was not provided with enough information to investigate the matter. He said Tshishonga’s testimony was not supported by the facts relating to the handling of his complaint by the office of the Public Protector. Full report on The Citizen site