President Jacob Zuma has applied for an interdict to block Public Protector Thuli Madonsela from releasing a report on her investigation into state capture.

Zuma served Madonsela with the notice on Thursday, which effectively blocks the Public Protector from releasing her first of two reports on Friday as planned.

The application is due to be heard in court on Tuesday, 18 October. Madonsela’s last day in office is Friday, the 14th of October.

The office of the Public Protector has said it cannot release the report until the courts have ruled on the interdict.

President Zuma has previously frustrated the Public Protector’s investigation by demanding access to the witnesses called in the investigation.

Zuma and his relationship with the controversial Gupta family are the focus of the investigation. The Gupta family’s lawyers have threatened Madonsela, saying that if they are implicated in the report, it will be at her “own peril”.

Earlier this week, Zuma requested that Madonsela assure him that she would not complete her investigation until he had been allowed to question other witnesses in the probe.

“President Jacob Zuma has written to the Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, requesting her to allow him or his legal representative to question other witnesses, determined by the Public Protector, who have appeared before the Public Protector,” the presidency said in a statement.

“The Public Protector disagreed with the request and instead offered to provide the President with written questions to which the president will be required to respond with an affidavit under oath. The Public Protector has now provided the President with her written questions.”

Zuma still wanted the list of witnesses who had appeared before the Public Protector, their statements, affidavits as well as transcripts of any oral testimony, the Presidency said.

“Furthermore, the president would want to exercise his right to question some of the witnesses before responding to the written questions and adducing evidence.”

In her response Madonsela said that the president was afforded sufficient opportunity to tender his evidence, stretching back to March while he was also afforded copies of all the evidence that implicates him at the beginning of October.

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