Reinvigorating the Consequences for Failure of the South African Public Protector to Discharge the Duty of the Office Impartially

In South Africa, the Constitution established the Office of the Public Protector to promote and protect the rights and interests of vulnerable members of the public against unlawful government conducts. In discharging this constitutional duty, the holder of the office must be above board, impartial, and function without fear, favour or prejudice. However, if the holder of the office fails to act in accordance with the rule of law, there would and should be consequences. This paper examined the consequences of an erring Public Protector in discharging the duty of the office using a literature review approach, searching and generating contemporary scholarly works in the subject area from the google search engine and jurisprudence from courts. The paper found that the courts shall impose punitive monetary sanctions and the Parliament might institute processes to remove the erring public protector for infractions and indiscretions. This study attempted to plug this legislative lacuna by proposing to Parliament and the National Assembly mechanisms that can be used to ensure that, not only the PP but other incumbent leaders of Chapter 9 institutions may be held to account for their actions.