Court ruling on 'spy tapes' in limbo

President Jacob Zuma's lawyers yesterday threw the NPA under the bus.

President Jacob Zuma’s lawyers threw the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) under the bus in yesterday’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) hearing, as in all likelihood attempts to overturn a high court ruling in the “spy tapes” saga will fail.

According to legal experts, “it is a little too late” for the NPA in its SCA appeal to overturn the High Court in Pretoria’s ruling in April last year – that its 2009 decision to withdraw a prosecution case against Zuma for 783 charges related to fraud, racketeering and corruption was irrational – should be reviewed and set aside.

This, after Advocate Kemp J Kemp, for Zuma, conceded to the SCA that the withdrawal was irrational, as the high court had ruled in the “spy tapes” case, brought by the Democratic Alliance.

“It’s obviously a little late and the costs are going to be an issue,” Wits Law Professor Stephen Tuson said.

“The court could order punitive costs for bringing a frivolous appeal.” And it would be the taxpayers who would have to fork out the cash for this, he added.

The effect of Kemp conceding meant the SCA in all probability will “dismiss the leave to appeal, because the high court also held the decision to withdraw the charges was irrational”, Tuson said.

“The original charges will be automatically reinstated. But the problem is that the court clearly said it doesn’t have power to order the national director of public prosecutions on when and how the charges should be reinstated.”

According to legal expert Advocate William Booth, Kemp’s assertion was a victory in a sense for the DA, “even though the SCA hasn’t handed down judgment”.

“To concede is exactly what the judge (in the high court) decided initially. He found that the decision was irrational and if lawyers are agreeing, then that is a strong concession that the judge was correct. –