Advocate Terry Motau SC has opened up about his decision to resign as chief evidence leader of the Madlanga commission of inquiry investigating allegations of criminality, corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system.
On Tuesday the commission announced Motau stepped down from his position and would be replaced by advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC, sparking speculation that the commission’s work could be compromised.
In an interview with Radio 702, Motau said he took the decision to withdraw on September 11 and communicated with the commission chairperson justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. He said he left due to administrative issues.
“Things didn’t go according to plan,” he said. “There were things that were quite unforeseen on my part that made it impossible for me to add value to the commission.”
He highlighted the importance of having a sufficient budget for the commission, referencing the Zondo commission of inquiry, which cost R1bn and left legal representatives unpaid for months.
“To be able to perform a task of this nature, once the government says they have given you a budget of R147m, it’s not a lot of money for a task such as this.
“You have different working lines or working streams, for example, the procurement of IT services, investigators, researchers, attorneys, evidence leaders and commissioners. Once you have that budget, there needs to be an indication of what the line item allocations for the budget are. So with those lessons coming into this, you want to avoid that.”
Despite that, he said he was not worried that he was not going to be paid enough.
“Taking up such a task is an act of service and I have no doubt that other leaders took a huge pay cut. But speaking for myself, I took a huge one.
“I was conscious that this is a different task. I call these matters ‘love for country’ matters, where it’s not about remuneration; it’s about contributing and bringing your expertise on board to assist the country in finding solutions.”
Motau said his departure would not have an effect on the proceedings of the commission.
“On account of my departure, there won’t be any disruption. I have confidence in those who are left at the commission. I do not want to create the impression that I’m casting any aspersions on the commission. My purpose is to explain things that haven’t come out yet.”
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