Prosecute Zuma privately - Zille
2008-09-16 11:51
Cape Town - Helen Zille, the leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, on Tuesday threatened to consider a private prosecution of ANC president Jacob Zuma if the National Prosecuting Authority declines to act further against him.
She also called for a special joint sitting of both houses of Parliament to
allow President Thabo Mbeki to explain his actions, which were criticised in
the judgment of Judge Chris Nicholson in Pietermaritzburg last Friday.
"Unless President Mbeki can satisfactorily explain his conduct before
Parliament, he should resign," Zille said.
She added that the parliamentary leader of the party, Sandra Botha, has written to the Speaker requesting that Parliament be reconvened so that he can explain himself as a matter of urgency.
'Miscarriage of justice'
Zille and her party hierarchy say that Zuma must not be allowed to become
president of the country with the serious accusations of bribery, fraud,
racketeering and money-laundering hanging over him.
And while they do not want to be seen to be conducting a vendetta against
him, a private prosecution under section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act would be one way of dealing with the issue.
"Given the prima facie case against Zuma, there appears to be no compelling reason for the NPA not to prosecute," she said. "This time around due care must be taken to ensure that Zuma's rights are not infringed, and that he is given the opportunity afforded by the Constitution to make representations to the NPA. But the prosecution must go ahead."
The route of a private prosecution, she added was not her first option, but
she insisted: "It would be a miscarriage of justice if Zuma were to get off the
hook due to a legal technicality."
Commission of inquiry
The DA leader also called again for a judicial commission of inquiry into
the arms deal, and she said that on Tuesday morning she wrote personally to the president asking him urgently to appoint a commission.
"If President Mbeki has nothing to hide there is no reason for him not to
appoint a commission of inquiry," she said. "He certainly has nothing to lose
politically."
Zille called for an end to the commission of inquiry under former speaker
Frene Ginwala. She noted that Judge Nicholson criticised the way that the
Ministers of Justice, Penuell Maduna and Brigitte Mabandla, undermined the
independence of the national director of public prosecutions, and that the
judge commented that the suspension of Vusi Pikoli was "a most ominous move that struck at the core of a crucial state institution".
"This has an immediate bearing on the Ginwala commission of inquiry into
Pikoli's suspension," she said, and added: "I believe that the court ruling
invalidates the need for the Ginwala commission and that the commission should be abandoned accordingly."
The method of appointment of the national director of public prosecutions
needs to be re-examined, Zille said. She said she has asked constitutional
affairs spokesperson, DA MP Len Joubert, to look at the possibility of setting up a body similar to the Judicial Service Commission to make the appointments.