IN THE political storm — not yet a tsunami — following the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the Nkandla case, we should be careful not to lose sight of key constitutional principles the court clarified. This seminal, unanimous judgment cogently explains the supremacy of the Constitution, the separation of powers, the unique responsibility of the president towards the Constitution, and the responsibility of the president and the National Assembly in dealing with reports of the public protector.The nub of the case was the status to be accorded to the findings and remedial action taken by the public protector in her report, Secure in Comfort. The court located the office of the public protector within the design of the Constitution — to provide an accessible recourse to citizens, "to protect the public from any conduct in state affairs … that could result in any impropriety or prejudice … unlawful enrichment and corruption".It considered the powers and attributes accorded to it ...
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