‘DA desperate to get Zuma back on hook’

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has staged a spirited fightback in the high court in Pretoria, arguing that the DA’s court application against him and the NPA was “misconceived” and a “desperate” attempt to have him recharged.

Zuma is battling the DA’s application for a review of a 2009 decision by former acting National Prosecuting Authority head Mokotedi Mpshe to withdraw corruption charges against the president.

Lawyers for Zuma argued on Wednesday that the DA's application was “misconceived”, as they had initially suggested Mpshe’s decision was motivated by his own personal ambitions and political pressure from the ANC.

However, Zuma’s legal team said, the party had now changed its tune and was arguing that Mpshe’s decision was irrational.

“Now we know that is not what this review is about, they have now accepted that Mpshe was acting in good faith. In a last desperate attempt to challenge his decision, they are now saying his decision was irrational,” said Kemp J Kemp for Zuma.

The strength of the NPA’s case against Zuma was not the only thing to be considered in determining whether or not to continue with the prosecution, he said.

According to Kemp, it was significant that the NPA, through the likes of former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy, was using its powers to determine who the next president of the country should be.

“The delay in serving an indictment to Zuma was designed to influence political results. The fact that it did not work is irrelevant,” he said.

Kemp further argued that Mpshe’s decision to discontinue Zuma’s prosecution had sent a message that officials could not use the powers of the ANC to fight political battles or influence political outcomes.

It was clear, Kemp said, that McCarthy and former NPA head Bulelani Ngcuka were trying to influence the timing of Zuma’s prosecution to influence a political outcome.

The NPA also argued against the DA’s application on Wednesday, saying it was undermining the independence of the NPA by trying to get the courts to force it to reinstate charges against Zuma. The charges, said the NPA, would not necessarily be reinstated if the DA won its court application to have Mpshe’s decision to drop the charges reviewed.

Instead, the matter would have to go back to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision on whether or not the charges should be reinstated. This was the contention of the NPA’s legal counsel, who also argued that the independence of the authority was at stake.

The NPA’s Hilton Epstein told the court that the principle of separation of powers was at stake as the DA sought to force the courts to reinstate charges against Zuma.

According to Epstein, the Supreme Court of Appeal had made it clear in its ruling in the Richard Mdluli case against Freedom Under Law that the doctrine of the separation of powers had to be respected.

“If the applicant (DA) wins, the (Zuma) case will have to go back to the National Prosecuting Authority to reconsider the decision to withdraw the charges.

“The charges will not be automatically reinstated,” said Epstein. The pursuit of one individual should not allow for the NPA’s independence to be disregarded, he said.

Pretoria News