The Public Protector is an office established by the Constitution of South Africa

Constitution of South Africa

The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...

. It is one of the Chapter nine institutions

Chapter nine institutions

Chapter nine institutions refer to a group of organisations established in terms of Chapter 9 of the South African Constitution to guard democracy...

, named for the constitutional chapter that establishes a number of bodies with the mandate to guard democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

.

It is similar to the office of ombudsman

Ombudsman

An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

 in other countries.

The incumbent, since October 2009, is former Law Reform Commissioner Adv Thulisile Madonsela. She succeeded Lawrence Mushwana, who took office on 15 October 2002. Selby Baqwa

Selby Baqwa

-References:...

, Mushwana's predecessor, was the first person to hold that office from its inception in 1995.

Mandate

The Public Protector may investigate, on the basis of a complaint or on its own initiative, any level of government. This includes national, provincial and local government, any public office bearer, any parastatal and any statutory council.

External links

• Public Protector official site