Time to axe Abrahams
IT’S HARD to think of any good reason for the long delay by the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shaun Abrahams, not to reinstate 783 cases of corruption and money-laundering, among others, against former president Jacob Zuma.
It is easy, however, to think of a range of other reasons – including incompetence and an alignment with Zuma for the fact that he has still not had his day in court.
This is why we believe Abrahams should go.
He has argued that he is competent to continue in his position of National Director of Public Prosecutions, but we disagree.
On the contrary, we are far more convinced by the North Gauteng High Court’s criticism of him in a judgement in December that he had associated himself “on all material” issues associated with Zuma – and that he should be removed from his position.
To us and many South Africans, Abrahams’s actions in the Zuma matter have seemed designed to keep the former president out of court.
Abrahams has yet to give a cogent explanation for his inaction.
We believe he is between a rock and a hard place.
There is no way that he can decide not to reinstate the charges. Failure to do so will open the matter to court challenges.
Frankly, most South Africans want this matter to be brought to finality. It has been revealed in Parliament that Zuma had run up legal fees of R15.3-million for the spy tapes case alone.
But this is not all: the EFF estimated that his legal costs in a range of other cases that he has had to defend amounts to R64mn. This is a disgrace. It is something that sticks in the craw – for it is money paid for by the taxpayer.
It is small comfort that President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that Zuma will be held responsible for the total legal costs in the spy tapes case – if Zuma loses that case.
We believe that Abrahams – through his failure or inability to take this case seriously – must be held responsible for some of this gung-ho use of taxpayers’ money
Our appeal to the authorities therefore is to make sure that Abrahams is replaced as National Director of Public Prosecutions – whatever he decides in the Zuma matter.