You could hear the cries of “Hallelujah!” ringing across the nation on Friday afternoon as it was announced that former president Jacob Zuma would finally stand trial for fraud, corruption, money-laundering and racketeering.
National director of public prosecutions Shaun Abrahams told the nation that the trial “would be the most appropriate forum for these issues to be ventilated”.
It’s all a sham, actually.
Contrast Abrahams’s announcement with his performance back in 2016, when he huffed and puffed and contorted himself in front of the nation as he announced false and malicious fraud charges against then Finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
Asked about the timing of his charges, Abrahams repeatedly denied that the NPA was being politically manipulated to go after perceived enemies of state capture and Zuma.
“What if this decision was made by a judge, what if this decision was made by the public protector, would your reaction have been the same? The days of disrespecting decisions of the National Prosecuting Authority are over,” he huffed.
Well, we know now that those charges were false and Abrahams had to withdraw them. The mud hadn’t stuck. The NPA is still disrespected.
See Justice Malala's full column on Times Select.
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