'Simelane was wronged'

Radebe defends appointment, but opposition say it's just unconvincing spin

Nov 30, 2009 10:36 PM | By Amukelani Chauke

Justice Minister Jeff Radebe defended the appointment of the new National Prosecuting Authority head Menzi Simelane, accusing the Public Service Commission of having violated his rights.

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I NEED A HOLIDAY ALREADY: Controversial new prosecutions boss Menzi Simelane at a press conference at which Minister of Justice Jeff Radebe said his rights had been violated Picture: ELIZABETH SEJAKE

Here is someone who lied under oath

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But opposition parties said "no amount of spinning" would convince South Africans that Simelane was the right choice for the post.

The minister stuck to his guns, saying Simelane was a "fit and proper" person to lead the NPA.

"I am therefore satisfied that the decision not to subject Simelane to a disciplinary hearing is correct as there is no reliable evidence of misconduct that justifies a disciplinary inquiry," Radebe said.

He criticised the Ginwala inquiry for its attack on Simelane, and the Public Service Commission for not conducting a proper investigation into the embattled advocate's conduct during the inquiry.

The refusal to allow Simelane to respond to allegations made by the Ginwala inquiry was one of the main reasons he ignored the commission's recommendations to take disciplinary action against the then justice director-general, Radebe said.

Former president Thabo Mbeki instituted the inquiry headed by Frene Ginwala into whether former NPA boss Vusi Pikoli was fit to hold office.

Simelane had been accused of trying to interfere in Pikoli's decision to arrest former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.

Pikoli took the government to court and last week reached an "amicable" deal with the state that paved the way for President Jacob Zuma to appoint Simelane.

Addressing journalists at the Union Buildings in Pretoria yesterday, Radebe said he rejected the commission's recommendations because it had denied Simelane the right to respond to allegations made against him during the Ginwala probe.

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille slammed Radebe's "futile spin exercise", saying Simelane lied under oath during the Ginwala hearings.

"A judicial officer should have integrity and be honest at all times, but here is someone who lied under oath and therefore fails hopelessly to meet the constitutional requirements," De Lille said.

DA MP Natasha Michael said Radebe's attempts to justify Simelane's appointment and rubbish the findings of the Ginwala inquiry were "wrong-headed and disingenuous".

"Minister Radebe can pontificate about the legal standing of the Ginwala commission until he is blue in the face . Simelane believes that the NPA should answer to the minister of justice," she said.

Also, a senior advocate, Pat Ellis, submitted a complaint to the Pretoria Bar Council against Simelane.

Ellis asked the council to consider the findings of the Ginwala inquiry, which found that Simelane "lied" while giving evidence to the inquiry.

Simelane assumes office officially today.

Comments

Dec 1 2009 02:55:12 AM
Billy Hill

Menzi Simelane is the new head of the NPA, and the Dumb Asses and Patricia De Lille with her ID 10 T's can rattle their cages and pee in their water bowls as much as they like.

The DA will do all it can to slow or prevent the implementation of the governments policies and plans and attempt to embroil government in ongoing litigation so that they at the end of the day can again point fingers and say there's no service delivery under Zuma's administration either.

The DA in particular have little or no intention at all to improve conditions for the poor and destitute and their only objective is to work to their own narrow foreign aligned interests.

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Dec 1 2009 05:22:22 AM
mcritic

The fact that a Commission of Enquiry appointed by the president found that Simalane did not provide reliable and truthful evidence leaves a major question mark as to his fitness for office - irrespective of what Jeff Radebe says about him.

However, the man has been appointed and there is no doubnt that nothing will or can be done to stop the appointment. Whether he is able to provide a level of service that would maintain public confidence in the NPA remains questionable - but in all fairness he should be given a chance to prove himself.

The hawks are out and every action of his would be watched with extreme dilligence. Should he fail - the implications would be clear as daylight. I hope he bears that in mind.

Lets hope he succeeds and that he delivers services that would benefit the people of the country who have nearly lost hope about crime prevention in SA. And the latter includes bribery and coorruption as well.

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Dec 1 2009 06:15:45 AM
DDarko

Hillbilly defends Simelane!

DDArko accused Simelane of not being fit and able to be an attorneys assh0le.

Hillbilly enraged, leapt to Simelane's defense and said he was fit to be an attorneys assh0le,

Go figure.

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Dec 1 2009 06:17:17 AM
Frik

Justice in South Africa is non existant. The goverment show no will to improve this situation in fact quite the contrary as can be seen by this latest appointment and the lame justification by Radebe the Justice Minister. It makes as much sense as the Mugabe style goverment.

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Dec 1 2009 06:39:26 AM
pws80

To give you an idea of what a liar Radebe is himself in this matter:
"Minister Radebeâ€™s view is in essence: â€œWell Simelane might have lied. Or he might have first forgotten about the existence of legal advice that was at the heart of his own submissions to the Inquiry before miraculously â€œrememberingâ€ it. In any event, it would be unfair to Simelane to determine whether he is a liar by having a disciplinary hearing.â€

In essence Radebe REFUSED to investigate a blatant lie by Simelane UNDER OATH.

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Dec 1 2009 06:42:53 AM
pws80

Next bit of Radebe dishonesty. Simelane wrote the ILLEGAL letter to Pikoli telling him to desist from charging Selebi. It must be noted that the letter was AGAINST the law in the first place, yet the puppet Simelane still wrote it ON INSTRUCTION of the Minister, which is completely at odds with his present (temporary) position.

"The selective quotation from the SCA judgement and a blithe comment that the Simelane could not be blamed for writing a letter that contained a patently illegal instruction because the Minister had signed the letter, suggests that Minister Radebe either holds the view that the SCA and the Constitutional Court are wrong about the nature of the NPAâ€™s independence and that the executive is therefore justified in ignoring the courts, or that it is perfectly fine to appoint a person as NDPP who writes letters that is in breach of the law."

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Dec 1 2009 06:50:30 AM
pws80

Even more damning for Simelane: NO integrity, NO honesty, NO independence, failure to respect the laws of the land. Yup, he is fit and proper to be in the ANC.

"Ginwala was appointed by Mbeki after the former president suspended Pikoli, mainly over the latter's attempt to charge former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.

However, Weekend Argus understands that Simelane told Zuma and Radebe that the terms of reference for setting up the Ginwala inquiry, and some of his controversial submissions, were literally written by adviser advocate Mojanku Gumbi.

He claimed that he did what Mbeki's office had asked him to do."

http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20091129100802436C373943

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Dec 1 2009 07:01:35 AM
pws80

How about this. Radebe REFUSES to investigate Simelane, then claims he has not had an opportunity to defend himself. Isn't that the point of an investigation. Heck, the strategy worked for Zuma, so why not Zuma's yes man, Simelane.

The depth of ANC dishonest is astounding.

"The Presidency statement referred only briefly to the Public Service Commission's investigation into Simelane, saying that Justice Minister Jeff Radebe had "decided not to proceed with disciplinary hearings against Advocate Simelane".