LETTER: Public protector's office damaged

With reference to Karyn Maughan’s article, the problem the Constitutional Court has with the binding  powers of the public protector originated with the unrecognised problem the writers of the constitution had when doling  out powers (“Constitutional Court will have to retrace footsteps to Nkandla ruling”, October 2).

That problem is the person occupying the office. Powers of appointment were given to the president when no one imagined a rogue like Jacob Zuma would be elected, and binding powers were given to the public protector when no one could imagine a rogue public protector, or what damage could be done.

The court will have to indulge in judicial gymnastics to come  up with a solution that gives powers to a benign office-holder but withholds them from a malignant one.

Sydney Kaye

Cape Town