Cape Town - Parliament's ad hoc committee on the appointment of the public protector will decide on Wednesday which of 14 candidates will become South Africa's new Public Protector to succeed Selby Baqwa.

The committee has battled since it was established in June to attract sufficient nominations and was forced to advertise at least three times.

It held public interviews in August, but reported to the National Assembly that it was unable to make a recommendation as it wanted a wider pool to make a selection.

This week the committee interviewed seven more candidates, including ANC MP Lawrence Mushwana, Wits academic Shadrack Gutto, Johannesburg advocate Divya Singh, Lawyers for Human Rights executive director Vinodh Jaichand, KwaZulu-Natal state law adviser Fikile Ndaki, Transkei advocate Loyiso Mpumlwana and Pretoria advocate Linda Pienaar.

Gutto, a Kenyan-born academic who became a South African citizen in October 2000, was interviewed on Friday.

Gutto told MPs he was forced to leave Kenya in 1982 because of the repressive nature of the government, and after a short stint in England, became a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.

In 1988 he was declared persona non grata and "thrown out" of Zimbabwe, partly "because I was teaching students that the land reform programme wasn't working very well then".

"It is quite an irony, the things I was saying, is what the government that threw me out is now saying there, but in a panicking manner." Asked by ANC MP Bishop Lekobo Tolo what lessons could be learnt from Kenyan democracy, Gutto said Kenya had been a one-party state from its independence in 1963 until 1991.

"In that kind of state we didn't really have democratic institutions. So it is not a place where lessons can be learnt. The only lesson is how to prevent South Africa from becoming another Kenya."

Gutto described his work in helping to strengthen South Africa's democracy, including advising the government on key legislation, training judges so that they could apply the country's equality laws, and ensuring that para-legals received a better deal.

However, his inability to speak an indigenous language appeared to be a problem for some MPs, including ANC MP Zoliswa Kota.

Gutto, a prolific writer who also authored a children's book titled: Big Eat Them on the dangers of too much power, said he wanted to ensure that the independent watchdog post would become a "people's public protector".

The seven other nominees who were interviewed last month and who will also be considered include University of Transkei Dean of Law Professor Mzamo Gumbi, Pretoria advocate Ferdinand Gustav Preller and assistant to the Public Protector Tinus Schutte.

The others are Johannesburg advocate Chris Mokoditoa, eThekwini director of forensic investigations, Murray Stewart, Durban magistrate Sifiso Luthuli and Johannesburg magistrate Ratha Mokgoatlheng.

MPs will meet on Wednesday to decide on the successful candidate, and will forward a report to the National Assembly which will make a recommendation to President Thabo Mbeki. The president makes the appointment for a non-renewable seven-year term.

Baqwa's term ends on September 30.

He has ruled on many controversial complaints against senior members of government, including then-Health minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for the Sarafina II debacle, as well as then-Minerals and Energy Minister Penuell Maduna for accusing the auditor-general at the time, Henri Kluever, of covering up a theft.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and www.news24.co.za