South African Public Protector: People’s Watchdog or Politicians’ Lapdog?

Abstract

The Public Protector (Ombudsman) became the center of attention in South African politics. This research questions whether the Public Protector has played an expected role as an Ombudsman. Despite its importance, there are few studies on the office. This research is the first academic work to evaluate the office’s role both empirically and comprehensively. It analyzes the Public Protector’s activity by using annual and investigation reports released by the office. It finds four points: the successive Public Protectors have strengthened the office’s operational capacity; the Public Protector mainly investigates small, non-political cases; ordinary citizens are the main complainants, except for politician-relating cases, and; while high-profile cases are controversial, the Public Protector success to resolve most cases. In short, while the Public Protector has secured ordinary citizens’ interests, it has failed to correct the allegations of politically high-profile people. Thus, some reforms are required to keep a politically-biased person from office. While the study has some problems due to the issues related to the material on which it is based, this paper would lead to an enhanced understanding of the current South African politics and pave way for future research on the Public Protector.