Last Thursday, Parliament endorsed the appointment of Kholeka Gcaleka as our new Public Protector. The trust crisis under which Busisiwe Mkhwebane's tenure collapsed, the nature of complaints to come and the 2024 elections will all test this important Chapter Nine institution. To add to this potent mix, Gcaleka takes office under a cloud of clearing President Cyril Ramaphosa of wrongdoing in the Phala Phala scandal.

The history of the Office of the Public Protector can charitably be described as mixed, with several of the tenures of those who occupied the office defined by the politically challenging complaints they dealt with and their responses to them.

SA's first Public Protector, Selby Baqwa, may have wished for an easy time, considering that he had to form the inaugural office and create precedents. Instead, he had to lead an investigation into the Arms Deal.

As Corruption Watch has noted, he sometimes gave the appearance of deferring to the ANC and its leadership.

While the Arms Deal was the original sin of corruption in SA's democratic era, what set the tone for how the ANC would protect itself was the Sarafina 2 scandal. Baqwa's investigation did not make findings against the health minister at the time, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, instead holding a mid-level official responsible.

Baqwa is now a high court judge.

Lawrence Mushwana also appeared to have little appetite to make findings against the ANC. However, as the ANC became divided between then President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy, Jacob Zuma, he had to make a finding on whether then National Prosecuting Authority head...