Selebi: The truth must come out

2007-10-05 15:56

Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance on Friday vowed it will pursue the controversy surrounding President Thabo Mbeki and police national commissioner Jackie Selebi.

Writing in the party's weekly newsletter, parliamentary leader of the DA, Sandra Botha, said the gravity of the situation was such that it should not be underestimated by "anyone who cares about the strength of our democracy".

"The DA for its part will now consider every possible legal and parliamentary avenue that is available to get to the truth of the matter," she said.

According a Mail and Guardian news report published on Friday, President Mbeki intervened three times to protect National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi from investigation by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

"If these reports are accurate, the President's interventions amount to a clear obstruction of the course of justice as well as a violation of the constitutionally entrenched principle of the separation of powers," Botha said.

Mbeki's silence on the saga, she said, has made it difficult for South Africans to trust him.

"The President's silence in the face of such a serious constitutional crisis is already doing potentially irreparable harm to our democratic institutions.

"There appears to be no reason for the people of South Africa to simply "trust him" as he requested at the beginning of this saga," she said.

Botha also questioned the independence of the commission appointed by Mbeki to conduct an inquiry on whether Vusi Pikoli, the suspended NPA head, was fit to hold office.

The inquiry is to be headed by former speaker of Parliament, Frene Ginwala.

"In any event, the fact that the Commission is headed by a close Mbeki-ally means that it is tainted even before it has begun its work," she said.

- SAPA