South Africa’s top anti-corruption official says she fears for her life after learning from an informant that hitmen are being contracted to kill her, her spokeswoman has said.<\/p>\n
Public Protector Thuli Madonsela is a leading public figure who scored a major victory when South Africa’s top court ruled on March 31 that President Jacob Zuma had violated the constitution by ignoring her instructions to pay back some of the $16m of state money spent upgrading his private home.<\/p>\n
The Western Cape province has a reputation for gangsterism and organised crime but her spokeswoman said Madonsela did not know who wanted to kill her.<\/p>\n
“On April 1 she received a text message from an informant, and that informant warned her to be careful. That person said a top gangster in the Western Cape was paid to get a hit man to kill her,” said spokeswoman Kgalalelo Masibi, confirming a report in the Sunday Times newspaper.<\/p>\n
“She is concerned about her safety and security,” Masibi said, adding that Madonsela knew the informant personally.<\/p>\n
Masibi said Madonsela had immediately alerted South Africa’s VIP protection service to the threat and that her security had initially been beefed up, but had since been scaled down.<\/p>\n
“Security Services say that 95% of the time the informant is incorrect. But what if this falls under the five percent?” Masibi said.<\/p>\n
Hangwani Mulaudzi, a police spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the South African police services (SAPS) were taking the allegations “very seriously”.<\/p>\n
“The situation is very urgent. And we are investigating the claims […] we need to make sure from a police point of view that we get to the bottom of this,” Hangwani said.<\/p>\n
Hangwani added that the national police commissioner would decide based on his findings if Madonsela needed more security. Hangwani said he was unable to provide a timeline for when this decision would be made.<\/p>\n
Opposition party demand answers<\/strong><\/p>\n Madonsela was quoted in the Sunday Times as saying she had stopped jogging and had become “cautious” about her movements.<\/p>\n Mzilikazi wa Afrika, one of the writers who broke the story, told Al Jazeera that given the sensitive nature of Madonsela’s work, it was only a matter of time before she became a target.<\/p>\n “If you stand for the truth, some people don’t want to hear it,” he said.<\/p>\n Madonsela’s office, which has a constitutional mandate, probes misconduct and abuse in state affairs and can have several investigations on the go at any time.<\/p>\n Since her appointment as Public Protector in 2009, Madonsela has become known as a fearless anti-corruption official, with a steely resolve to tackle some of the most controversial issues in the country. In 2010, her office revealed a series of irregularities in the leasing of accommodation to the South African Police Services.<\/p>\n In 2014, Time Magazine included Madonsela on their Time 100 list, describing her as “an inspirational example of what African public officers need to be”. She was also a recipient of the Transparency International “integrity award” in 2014.<\/p>\n More on<\/p>\n How much money Thuli Madonsela needs to do her job<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Why R1 million payback for Nkandla is simply not enough<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n