NPA's answering affidavit bolsters DA's request to reinstate charges against Zuma
31 March 2015
Today the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has at last filed its answering affidavit relating to the review of the decision to discontinue the prosecution of over 700 charges of corruption and racketeering levelled against President Jacob Zuma. Our preliminary view is that the contents of the NPA's answering affidavit proffers no substantive reasons for why these charges were dropped in the first place.
It is therefore the DA's contention that these charges should be reinstated without further delay. This comes after the NPA finally filed its answering affidavit after almost six years and three missed deadlines.
The NPA's rationale for dropping the 783 charges against President Zuma is that "McCarthy manipulated the Zuma prosecution for an ulterior motive on the instruction of Ngcuka and others close to Mbeki" to assist Mbeki retain control of the ANC ahead of the ANC's Polokwane elective conference in 2008.
The NPA further goes on to argue that this gave rise to the level of an abuse of power by the then President, Thabo Mbeki, the erstwhile NPA boss, Bulelani Ngcuka, and Scorpions boss, Leonard McCarthy. There is no new evidence to suggest that Ngcuka unduly influenced McCarthy's decision-making or that Mbeki exerted any undue pressure on Ngcuka. The Prosecuting Authority has, therefore, made these claims based on speculation and conjecture and has failed to provide any cold, hard evidence to support these allegations.