A slippery grasp of the principles of legality by those interviewed to be the next Public Protector, and gasps from those asking the questions when one would-be Public Protector said he didn't vote. All this and more marked the interviews on day one.

It was advocate Oliver Josie's "I don't vote" that took ANC MP Mina Lesoma aback. She responded with a "whoa". Josie's unexpected reply was to a question on the theme of independence that ran through day one of the interviews for the post of Public Protector.

"I always say 'independent from what?' Do you vote?" asked Lesoma in the wake of earlier opposition questions on independence to advocate Tommy Ntsewa. He had told MPs he was "proud" of his ANC activism that saw him detained at the age of 15 during the state of emergency, but that "my political alignment of the past should not influence my decisions today".

Fellow ANC MP Bulelani Magwanishe picked up the voting issue, asking Josie how it would look to an ordinary person from eNgcobo if the Public Protector didn't vote and contribute to the country.

"They should look at me as a person who is truly independent," replied Josie, but Magwanishe retorted, "If a judge goes to vote, is he compromised?" Josie said "no" and reiterated, "It's a constitutional right to vote, and it's a constitutional right not to vote."

It was a moment.

Neither did the four interviewees satisfactorily nor correctly answer...