“Traumatised staff” working under Public Protector Thuli Madonsela are receiving counselling following the “acts of a bunch of rascals that invaded her office” on Monday.

In a statement on Tuesday‚ Madonsela said she was “shocked and appalled” after the “group stormed the office and overpowered security personnel stationed at the entrance‚ jumping over the front desk to gain access to the rest of the building”.

 Reports said the protesters were from the Black First‚ Land First movement who were unhappy about an apartheid-era spy issue.

“Police were called in and the situation was defused‚ with members of the group being apprehended‚” the statement said.

 “The Public Protector believes that such an illegal violent act‚ which allegedly included intimidation of staff and taking at least four of them as hostages‚ should be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all those committed to constitutional democracy and the rule of law.”

 Madonsela said “the unruly group is not complainants in the matter provided as a basis for their actions but have recently started inquiring about an investigation lodged by advocate Paul Hoffman of the Institute for Accountability Southern Africa”.

 “It is important to point out that the investigation is not and could not look into any apartheid crime of theft or any other as that would fall outside the remit of the Public Protector‚” the statement added.

“This is because the Public Protector was only established in democratic South Africa‚ in October 1995‚ and has no powers to investigate what is alleged to have happened prior to its existence.

 “Instead‚ the investigation looks into the propriety or otherwise of the alleged failure by the democratic government between 1998 and 2003 to implement advise from a retired UK intelligence officer regarding the recovery of an alleged R3.2-billion loan allegedly given to Bankorp by the South African Reserve Bank during apartheid. The investigation is ongoing.”