Getting closer to No1 finally 'having his day' in court
Suspects in criminal cases are usually eager to clear their names, insisting they "get their day in court". A glaring exception has been President Jacob Zuma. In the seven years of his presidency Zuma and his lawyers have left no loophole unvisited in their desperate attempts to ensure he does not get his day in court to answer to the 783 corruption charges that form part of the spy-tape case and threatened to end his presidency before it had begun in 2009.To this end Zuma has been enthusiastically aided by the National Prosecuting Authority, the state agency which, in more normal circumstances, should fulfil its constitutional mandate by prosecuting cases in which there is prima facie evidence of a crime.Viewed against the alacrity with which the NPA has sought to bring charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, it is hard to deny the NPA is firmly in Zuma's pocket, despite protestations to the contrary by NPA head Shaun Abrahams.This week, in bringing the charges against Gordhan, Abrahams insisted: "The days of disrespecting the decisions of the NPA are over.the days of nonaccountability and not holding senior government officials accountable are over."If Abrahams is indeed signalling that the NPA has grown a backbone, that would be welcome news. But its track record in respect of Zuma strongly suggests the opposite is true.Earlier this year the High Court overturned the NPA's decision to drop corruption charges against Zuma and said the charges should be reinstated. But that wasn't enough for the NPA, which had originally decided not to bring the charges in 2009, citing "political interference". So, instead of prosecuting Zuma, it appealed to the Constitutional Court, which this week said it would not hear the NPA's appeal.Now the Supreme Court of Appeal says Zuma's lawyers can come to argue his case.It's a reprieve for Zuma, for now. But let's hope the judges' next ruling will bring us a day closer to Zuma having his day in court to protest his innocence and, if necessary, to accept the consequences should he not do so...
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