Social justice chair

In the author’s words, “If someone has the power to make a change that he or she can see will reduce injustice in the world, then there is a strong social argument for doing just that.”

Thulisile Nomkhosi ‘Thuli’ Madonsela, South African advocate and professor of law, holds a chair in social justice at Stellenbosch University. She conducts and coordinates social justice research, and teaches constitutional and administrative law. She served as the Public Protector of South Africa from 19 October 2009 to 14 October 2016.

In her final days in office, Thuli compiled the explosive State Capture Report and, before that, the report on past President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence. Praised and vilified in equal measures, she has frequently found herself at centre stage in the increasingly fractious local political scene. It could be argued that her success has been down to timing, dealing with some of the biggest political scandals in SA. Yet, despite the intense media scrutiny and criticism, Thuli remains something of an enigma. Who is this soft-spoken woman who stood up to state corruption? Where did she develop her views and resolve? This book attempts to answer these questions, and others, by exploring many aspects of her life: her childhood years and family, involvement in student politics, contribution to the Constitution, and her life in law.

Thuli once described her role of public protector as being akin to that of the Venda traditional spiritual female leader, the Makhadzi (a woman who is entrusted with making the biggest decisions in the family; an advisor or aunt to the king), who whispers truth to the ruler. When the sounds of the exchanges between the ruler and the Makhadzi grow loud, Thuli said, that is when the whispering has failed.

No Longer Whispering to Power focuses on her tenure as public protector, during which the whisper grew into a cry. It’s the story of the South African people’s attempt to hold power to account through the Office of the Public Protector. More significantly, this important book stands as a record of the crucial work Thuli has done, always acting without fear or favour.

PUBLIC REVIEWS

HP Ntuli reviews via Goodreads:

“Very interesting angle in telling Thuli’s story. At first I had no idea how politically active she has been in her youth. I guess it’s the pre- democracy life of any black South African to be always caught in the mix of politics. [It] seemed her and her brother found politics the only way to make a difference in their communities. Pretty fascinating was her [rise] to the top office. There, she assumed the role of a real people protector with vigour. It was quite clear that her involvement in struggle was motivated by the need to make

a difference, the need to contribute positively to her people. In her role, she fought greed with all she had, questioned the masters that hired her and rewrote the South African history of hope and belief that all nations regardless of colour can work towards a common goal. She led the South African protest for equality and transparency without compromise. Her no pain no gain attitude made her fearless to all the threats and stones thrown at her. At the end, Thandeka drives it home to me by almost asking the important question. What kind of South Africa do we all want?”

Sarahleen Strickland, reviewing on Amazon, reports: “I thought it was a very well written book. Very intensively researched and not an easy subject matter. I did struggle with the end result though, for me, it was more a book about the history of SA and the ANC rule, the terrible corruption, raping of the resources of SA and incompetence of the ANC ruling party and other officials. I was looking forward to learning more about the person – Thuli Madonsela – but felt it concentrated on the official person, who is obviously a very admirable and morally strong woman. I felt I was reading a thesis or dissertation, and am none the wiser about Thuli Madonsela.”

Mpho Bernadette writes on Goodreads: “I actually abandoned the book. To say it was disappointing was an understatement. Thuli [the author] should have asked Redi Thlabi to write it. I needed a thesaurus to try and read it and then also had to navigate through lessons on pointless idioms that really should not have been there in the first place. Waste of trees, ink, electricity and space on the shelf, shame. I wanted to really get to know Thuli Madonsela and what made her. I may try to read it again at a later stage to fulfil the purpose of knowing who the remarkable subject matter is. Truly speaking, Thuli Madonsela is a phenomenal woman.”

Siphiwe Dondolo writes on Amazon: Loved it! The strength and resolve of Thuli Madonsela is truly inspirational. I got a good sense of who Thuli the person is and Thuli the Public Protector. Great work by Thandeka Gqubule.