PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – OCTOBER 31: The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss advocate Shaun Abrahams during a media briefing to announce the withdrawal of fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his co-accused Irvin Pillay and Oupa Magashule on October 31, 2016 in Pretoria, South Africa. Gordhan, Pillay and Magashule were scheduled to appear in court over charges relating to the approval of the early retirement of Pillay and his re-hiring, costing the tax agency R1.1-million. (Photo by Gallo Images / Beeld / Felix Dlangamandla)
Abrahams warned not to withdraw fraud and corruption charges against Zuma
Nothing s going according to Abrahams’ plan.
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – OCTOBER 31: The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss advocate Shaun Abrahams during a media briefing to announce the withdrawal of fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his co-accused Irvin Pillay and Oupa Magashule on October 31, 2016 in Pretoria, South Africa. Gordhan, Pillay and Magashule were scheduled to appear in court over charges relating to the approval of the early retirement of Pillay and his re-hiring, costing the tax agency R1.1-million. (Photo by Gallo Images / Beeld / Felix Dlangamandla)
Under fire NPA boss Shaun Abrahams has been warned not to withdraw fraud, corruption and other charges against President Jacob Zuma.
According to the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac), Abrahams has up until January to give an assurance that Zuma will indeed face charges of fraud and corruption.
This comes after the High Court ruling which rendered Abrahams’ appointment as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) null and void.
The court also ruled that Zuma cannot appoint a new NDPP, citing conflict of interest arising from the charges against him, thus putting the responsibility of making the appointment on deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa’s table instead.
Abrahams had extended Zuma’s deadline to make representations as to why he should not be prosecuted on these charges to February 2018, but according to Casac’s Lawson Naidoo, such a decision should not be taken until a new NDPP is appointed.
“The Constitutional Court now in its direction said that Mr Abrahams should be excluded from taking such a decision because it will be tainted by perceptions of bias at the very least because of the manner of his appointment,” Naidoo said.
“Until such time that a new, permanently appointed National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) is in place, we believe that no decision should be taken with regards to Mr Zuma’s charges.”
Naidoo said they hope for a swift process so that the charges can be pursued as soon as possible.
“We know Mr Abrahams has extended the deadline for Mr Zuma to make representations regarding these charges to the end of January and we certainly hope that the Constitutional Court will hear this matter as one of urgency so that a new NDPP can be appointed as soon as possible so that these charges can be properly prosecuted,” he added.
Abrahams has been given until 5 January 2018 to make these undertakings.
Also read: “Zuma should not serve one more day as President” – ANC Veteran Sydney Mufamadi
