SACP STATEMENT ON THE REMOVAL OF ADV VUSI PIKOLI AS NDPP

The SACP welcomes the announcement today by the President of the Republic, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe today on relieving Adv Vusi Pikoli from his responsibilities as National Director of Public Prosecutions.

Whilst we are still studying the details of the report, it is worth mentioning that we cannot help but come to the same conclusions as the report does when it's says "I have also found issues of concern in the capacity and understanding of Adv Pikoli to carry out the responsibilities of the office of NDPP. These relate primarily to his understanding of issues pertaining to national security and his lack of appreciation of the sensitivities of the political environment in which the NPA needs to operate, which sensitivity would not be incompatible with his prosecutorial independence".

The quote above is indicative of the style that has come to characterise the work of the NPA under the stewardship of Adv Pikoli. Inaction on the Special Browse Mole report, the use of elements that have not been vetted in carrying out the work of the NPA including the search and seizure warrants conducted at the union buildings and the homes and offices of Cde Zuma and those associated with him, the use of the Scorpions as an instrument to settle internal narrow factional scores in the liberation movement and an apparent hand of the executive in prosecutorial matters despite the denials.

It is against this background that the continued leadership of the NPA by Adv Pikoli would have gone against the spirit of what is currently underway in undoing this rot which posed a threat to our democracy and stability of our country.

The SACP will seek to study the recommendations deeply and find ways in which the said recommendation could be integrated into the ongoing review of the Criminal Justice System in our endeavour to strengthen our fight against crime and organsied crime specifically.

In that regard, taking into cognizant the fact that the NPA has appealed the judgment, it will be foolhardy not to find a mechanism to bring to the table the serious concerns raised in the judgment of Judge Nicholson in so far as an inference of executive interference on matters of prosecutions. The mere fact that the judgment exist, regardless of the outcome of the appeal, is indeed a worrying factor as it also reinforces of what we have always known and said.

Statement issued by the South African Communist Party December 8 2008