Johannesburg – Anything other than a truly independent NPA, public protector, and allied institutions are unacceptable, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said on Monday.

“Anybody who makes an effort to… appreciate the theme that runs through my addresses that relate to constitutional institutions will remember that I’m campaigning for near absolute independence of the judiciary,” Mogoeng said.

This included institutions established under South Africa’s constitutional democracy.

“That goes for the NPA, that goes for the public protector,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg after meeting International Criminal Court president Justice Sang-Hyun Song.

“More importantly, if you also have a look at our jurisprudence, of this court in particular, you will realise that anything other than a truly independent National Prosecuting Authority, and public protector, and allied institutions, is unacceptable to me and the broader legal fraternity.

“That’s where we are,” Mogoeng said.

Earlier on Monday, the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) appeared to backtrack on reports that its chairman Kebby Maphatsoe accused Public Protector Thuli Madonsela of being an agent for the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Maphatsoe’s special adviser, Ike Moroe, denied the statement but conceded that reference to the CIA had been made.

“He did make reference to the possibility of a CIA machination in an attempt to destabilise the country,” Moroe told reporters in Johannesburg.

“[However] nothing is impossible… from the international intelligence community.”

The Star reported on Monday that Maphatsoe, who is also deputy minister of defence and military veterans, had accused Madonsela of working for the CIA.

SAPA