The chairperson tasked with finding a replacement for public protector Thuli Madonsela is adamant that she has not been lobbied by the ruling party regarding the post.

“Obviously I am a member of the ANC [African National Congress]. But in as far as this process is concerned, Luthuli House has not contacted me. Or directed me to speak to anybody whatsoever,” Makhosi Khoza insisted.

She said the only thing she had been doing was to brief her chief whip about where the process was now.

“I have to tell them how the process is going. I have not yet been lobbied and I hope it will stay that way,” she said.

One of the candidates on the list is ANC MP Loyiso Mpumlwana, a member of the justice committee in Parliament.

Khoza said while she was a member of the ANC and believed in its policies, she was only presiding over the process and would not make the final decision.

“Investigate me... I am not a pushover,” she said.

She said any person they came up with would have to be fit and proper.

The public have until July 8 to make objections to members, she said.

But an objection would not automatically disqualify candidates.

They would first have to make sure an objection was valid beforehand, the committee said.

She urged those making objections to include their details, so as to validate them.

The list has been made public.