Pubilc Protector Lawrence Mushwana will investigate "abuse of power" allegations against Scorpions boss Bulelani Ngcuka following Deputy President Jacob Zuma's complaint last week.

"I must say this is a serious matter and I hope we will have an answer - the people of South Africa need to know what is happening," Mushwana said.

"From reading the newspapers most people must be quite confused - that's what makes it serious. People want answers," Mushwana said in an exclusive interview with the Cape Times late yesterday.

Zuma's complaint was "definitely within our mandate" and Mushwana was "confident we should be able to investigate".

But, says Mushwana, he is still trying to find his way through the maze of allegations, counter-allegations, court proceedings in Durban and Pretoria, as well as the Hefer Commission in Bloemfontein, involving "the same Bulelani, the same Jacob and the same Schabir (Shaik - Zuma's financial advisor)".

"The complaint we are dealing with is definitely within our mandate - it's an allegation of abuse of power in a state institution.

"It's not even near what Judge Hefer is doing because the Hefer Commission is dealing with abuse of power which relates to alleged abuse of power due to Bulelani Ngcuka being a spy. What we are dealing with has no bearing to anyone being a spy."

Mushwana also said he was trying to "move between very thin lines" because he did not want to "duplicate what is already under way".

Zuma had not charged in his complaint to Mushwana that Ngcuka's alleged abuse of power was because the Scorpions boss was a spy.

Apparently questioning Hefer's terms of reference, Mushwana said: "An abuse of power remains an abuse of power, whether you were a spy or not."

Mushwana said letters would be delivered to Ngcuka, the national director of public prosecutions, and his boss, Justice Minister Penuell Maduna, informing them that a preliminary investigation has been launched to determine how best to deal with Zuma's complaint.  

He had also requested documentation from Maduna's office relating to Ncguka's decision not to prosecute Zuma despite his finding that there was a "prima facie" case of corruption against the deputy president.

Mushwana said: "We are still collating information which will inform us on how to proceed - whether to hold a formal inquiry in which you will hear oral evidence, or whether other matters can be settled by way of written responses.

"Once we get the documents from the minister of justice and others from the deputy president, then we will be able to say 'this is the way we will go' by the end of the week."

Last Thursday Zuma announced he had laid a formal complaint with the public protector, calling for an investigation into Ngcuka's apparent "political act" of smearing the deputy president's name by the way the investigation into alleged corruption by Zuma relating to the arms deal was handled, and Ngcuka's apparent attempts to ensure that a "cloud of suspicion" continued to hang over the country's second-in-charge".

According to Mushwana, Zuma's complaint was "voluminous" in that there were "no less than 2 000 pages" of documentation which he had filed with his complaint against Ngcuka, including affidavits and press cuttings.

Also included in Zuma's file were documents from Thales, the French arms company which was awarded contracts in the arms deal.

While he was still studying some details of the complaint, Mushwana had requested "one outstanding document" from Zuma, as well as transcripts of radio interviews broadcast on SAfm, in addition to the documents from Maduna.

With acknowledgements to Jeremy Michaels and the Cape Times.