DA to request Justice Committee to urgently probe political meddling in tenure of NPA head

04 June 2014

As soon as it is constituted, the DA will ask the Justice Portfolio Committee of the fifth Parliament to investigate and make known the truth behind serious questions raised this week around the appointment and tenure of National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Mxolisi Nxasana.

The head of the National Prosecuting Authority, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), is required by law and the Constitution to be a fit and proper person, with due regard to his or her experience, conscientiousness and integrity, appointed by the President to act independently, without fear or favour.

Yet recent allegations in the media around Mr Nxasana raise serious concerns, not only with regard to the process followed in appointing this National Director, but also with regard to whether the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is being abused to advance political ends.

There are two equally disturbing possibilities in this matter raised in the media this week. The first is that Mr Nxasana might not be a fit and proper person to hold the office of NDPP, due to prior run-ins with the law; in which case his appointment would have been irrational and must be set aside.

The second is that Mr Nxasana is a fit and proper person to hold the office, but is being manipulated in his functions to advance political ends.

Political interference in the NPA, to date, has left our prosecutorial integrity in tatters. Rocked by scandal after scandal, the NPA has been left with an extremely poor reputation. The South African people do not believe that the NPA is capable of putting criminals behind bars.

Former National Director, Vusi Pikoli, was summarily dismissed from this position under dubious circumstances, despite subsequently being found to have been a fit and proper person for the office.

Under President Zuma's administration, the National Director appears to be forced to defend their position politically rather than upholding the rule of law. The DA is concerned that once more a National Director is being pushed into this corner, with reports of former Minister of Justice, Mr Jeff Radebe, verbally demanding his resignation before the 7 May Elections.

This comes after National Director Nxasana has permitted the resurrection of charges against President Zuma's ally, Richard Mdluli, and is rumoured to be considering reinstituting the 780-odd charges of corruption, fraud and racketeering against the President himself.

The South African public deserves to know whether the body meant to prosecute crime is being led by a person who is fit and proper to hold the office, and if so, whether he is being subjected to political pressure to do as the ANC wishes.

The DA will seek nothing short of a full Justice Portfolio Committee enquiry into the matter. I will write to the Chairperson of the committee to convene a special committee sitting which will serve as the enquiry. We will request the appearance of the former Minister of Justice, Mr Jeff Radebe, the NDPP, Mr Mxolisi Nxasana, and President Zuma's lawyer, Mr Michael Hulley, who is alleged to have been involved in the appointment.

The DA will also request the following documents to be produced to the committee:

1. The full record of decision on the appointment of Mr Nxasana to the office of NDPP;

2. The application form for the office of NDPP completed by Mr Nxasana; and

3. The letters of appointment to Mr Nxasana for the office of NDPP;

The DA will also seek terms of reference that the enquiry must recommend amendments to the procedure for appointing future NDPPs.

Further, in the ongoing matter of the DA vs The NDPP and President Zuma in our efforts to obtain the so-called Spy Tapes on which the NDPP relied when he discontinued the prosecution of Jacob Zuma on the 780-odd charges against him, we will return to the Supreme Court of Appeal soon. This will be to obtain an order to compel the NPA to comply with an order of the Gauteng North High Court that they hand over the tapes to the DA.

The Supreme Court of Appeal will hear this matter on 15 August 2014.

The DA will continue to fight for the independence and the impartiality of the National Prosecuting Authority, so that it can truly deliver on its Constitutional mandate without fear or favour.

Statement issued by Mmusi Maimane, DA Parliamentary Leader, June 4 2014

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