A chance to redeem the NPA
The key argument surrounding President Jacob Zuma’s prosecution (or lack thereof) on the 783 counts on the charges of fraud, racketeering and fraud has been that of a political conspiracy against him.
But the Supreme Court of Appeal’s dismissal of Zuma and the NPA’s appeal of the high court’s judgment tells another story.
Reading Judge Navsa’s judgment it would appear that the real conspiracy in this case is the unlawful use of state institutions to help Zuma evade prosecution. And former acting head of the NPA Mokotedi Mpshe, senior prosecutor Willie Hofmeyr and Zuma’s legal counsel Michael Hulley are covered in mud.
The question that Mpshe should have pursued when, in 2009, Hulley made representations for the withdrawal of charges against Zuma was how and why Hulley got possession of the so-called spy tapes.
Not only did the content of the tapes not contain evidence material to the charges against Zuma, it is highly likely that Hulley’s possession of the tapes and transcripts was illegal. These tapes were the property of the National Intelligence Agency.
Following the representations by Hulley, the prosecution team working on the fraud case submitted that the case against Zuma remained strong regardless of what Hulley had presented.
The lead prosecutor on the case was William Downer SC who was involved in the fraud case against Schabir Shaik, to which Zuma’s case is linked. Downer surely could not have been in doubt or irrational when he together with the team asserted that the case against Zuma was watertight.
The only conclusion that any reasonable person, and that which the SCA came to, is that Mpshe’s decision and actions were invalid and irrational.
As the court found, although Mpshe maintained that his decision to drop charges against Zuma was motivated by the need to preserve the integrity of the NPA and protect its independence, his decision had the opposite effect. And Hofmeyr who was at pains to defend Mpshe’s decision was doubly irrational.
It was Mpshe’s lack of courage to pursue justice without fear or favour that has tainted the NPA’s credibility. Will NPA head Shaun Abrahams have the courage to act to redeem the NPA? Time will tell.