Amid a swirl of debate and anger earlier in the year that the Gupta family had captured the state, a group of Catholic priests resolved to ask then public protector, Thuli Madonsela, to probe the claims.
On March 18, Father Stanislaus Muyebe, vicar-general of the Dominican Order of Southern Africa, became the first person to ask Madonsela to investigate if it was true that the Guptas were calling the shots in President Jacob Zuma's ministerial appointments.
Muyebe told Sowetan yesterday the Dominican Order, which is a body of Catholic priests from South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, decided to lodge the complaint to have the matter settled.
Protector’s office claims ownership of State of Capture report
"As people coming from the church we were not politically motivated," said Muyebe.
"Our concerns were that there were serious allegations and that - for the purposes of common good - it was proper that there should be an independent investigation into the allegations."
The order's South African offices are based in Mondeor, Johannesburg.
In State of Capture, the report detailing the damning findings of the investigation whether the Guptas indeed influenced Zuma's ministerial appointments, Madonsela revealed Muyebe was the first complainant.
He was followed by Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the DA. Madonsela's report pointed out that the complaints followed media reports that the Guptas offered Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas the minister of finance job.
Zuma did not want the report released. However, his lawyers unexpectedly abandoned his application at the North Gauteng Hight Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Muyebe would not comment on Madonsela's findings as the order, the church grouping, had not met to discuss the report. He, however, paid homage to the court for ordering release of the report.
"The performance of the courts and Chapter 9 institutions are in some way restoring public confidence in democracy.
"There's an element of checks and balances that is coming from those institutions.
"There's also an element of accountability as well, that says we can rely on [these] institutions," he said.
"At that level, democracy in South Africa is not totally broken. We have an arm of government that is able to operate independently and has ability to do check and balances."
But the complaint almost caused a serious fallout within the order, as some members and people outside it felt it should not have been lodged under its banner.
Muyebe said they had recovered from the storm.
"Some, I think, might have seen it as part of a political movement for regime change. For us, it was not motivated by that.
"We respect the authorities but we're also looking at how their leadership is impacting the poor. We're coming from that angle."
nkosib@sowetan.co.za
How priest Muyebe set off capture probe
Amid a swirl of debate and anger earlier in the year that the Gupta family had captured the state, a group of Catholic priests resolved to ask then public protector, Thuli Madonsela, to probe the claims.
On March 18, Father Stanislaus Muyebe, vicar-general of the Dominican Order of Southern Africa, became the first person to ask Madonsela to investigate if it was true that the Guptas were calling the shots in President Jacob Zuma's ministerial appointments.
Muyebe told Sowetan yesterday the Dominican Order, which is a body of Catholic priests from South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, decided to lodge the complaint to have the matter settled.
Protector’s office claims ownership of State of Capture report
"As people coming from the church we were not politically motivated," said Muyebe.
"Our concerns were that there were serious allegations and that - for the purposes of common good - it was proper that there should be an independent investigation into the allegations."
The order's South African offices are based in Mondeor, Johannesburg.
In State of Capture, the report detailing the damning findings of the investigation whether the Guptas indeed influenced Zuma's ministerial appointments, Madonsela revealed Muyebe was the first complainant.
He was followed by Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the DA. Madonsela's report pointed out that the complaints followed media reports that the Guptas offered Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas the minister of finance job.
Zuma did not want the report released. However, his lawyers unexpectedly abandoned his application at the North Gauteng Hight Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Muyebe would not comment on Madonsela's findings as the order, the church grouping, had not met to discuss the report. He, however, paid homage to the court for ordering release of the report.
"The performance of the courts and Chapter 9 institutions are in some way restoring public confidence in democracy.
"There's an element of checks and balances that is coming from those institutions.
"There's also an element of accountability as well, that says we can rely on [these] institutions," he said.
"At that level, democracy in South Africa is not totally broken. We have an arm of government that is able to operate independently and has ability to do check and balances."
But the complaint almost caused a serious fallout within the order, as some members and people outside it felt it should not have been lodged under its banner.
Muyebe said they had recovered from the storm.
"Some, I think, might have seen it as part of a political movement for regime change. For us, it was not motivated by that.
"We respect the authorities but we're also looking at how their leadership is impacting the poor. We're coming from that angle."
nkosib@sowetan.co.za
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