Paul Ngobeni‚ a “private citizen” who made an appearance at the media briefing by the SABC on Tuesday to announce the redeployment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng‚ has been in the public spotlight since he returned from the United States in 2007. In the briefing‚ Ngobeni was seated in the panel which included chairman Mbulaheni Maguvhe‚ Motsoeneng and Acting CEO James Aguma.It was unclear why he was in the panel‚ but this became evident when he addressed the briefing.Ngobeni said he was disturbed about a trend within the journalism community in the way the reporters approached court judgments.“Court judgments are to be read‚ analysed‚ dissected‚ but at the same time they cannot be distorted simply to pursue an agenda against certain individuals who are perceived to be vulnerable to attacks by politicians‚ NGOs and so forth‚” Ngobeni said.He then went on to explain his views on the judgment of the Cape High Court last year‚ which set aside Motsoeneng’s appointment as COO.Ngobeni has been in the public spotlight since he came back from the United States in 2007 and was appointed University of Cape Town deputy registrar of legal services.He was in the forefront of lobbying for charges against the then deputy president of the ANC Jacob Zuma to be dropped.In January 2008‚ he wrote an open letter to retired Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson and renowned advocate George Bizos to criticise the men he regarded as heroes and to “refute the erroneous legal statements you have made”.Ngobeni said Zuma was entitled to argue for a dismissal of his corruption case under the doctrine of abuse of process.“The general rule is that the unfair or oppressive treatment of an accused by the prosecuting authorities disentitles the state to carry on with the prosecution of the charge. The prosecution is set aside‚ not on the merits‚ but because it is tainted to such a degree that to allow it to proceed would tarnish the integrity of the court.”He also lobbied for Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe when the judge president was accused of improperly accepting a retainer from Oasis and allowing the company to sue another judge Siraj Desai for defamation.He wrote a letter to the newspaper entitled “Why Hlophe should remain as judge president”.During the same year‚ he wrote a motivation letter on behalf of Justice for Hlophe Alliance in support of the nomination of Hlophe to be judge in the Constitutional Court.Ngobeni said the Justice for Hlophe Alliance was formed in response to the relentless unfair attacks on Hlophe by anti-transformation elements within and outside the judiciary as well as the infamous and opportunistic attacks on Hlophe by unsavory characters who had an axe to grind with him.He parted ways with the university in June 2009 after disagreements with the head of the institution.He was then appointed as adviser to Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu but allegations surfaced that Ngobeni‚ who practised law for many years in the United States‚ was a fugitive from justice.This was confirmed by the Public Protector in 2012‚ who said an investigation confirmed there was a warrant for Ngobeni’s arrest.The Public Protector however cleared Sisulu for irregularly appointing Ngobeni as her special adviser‚ saying it was not Sisulu’s fault that the department’s vetting process failed to detect the warrant.Addressing the media on Tuesday‚ Ngobeni denied these allegations.“You can go and check as a matter of published judicial opinions. I am not a fugitive from any law.”Ngobeni also said he had contributed far more to the jurisprudence of that country than anybody with similar experience and number of years on the bar.As recently as May this year‚ Ngobeni wrote an opinion on the judgment which ordered Zuma to pay for non security upgrades at his Nkandla home.Ngobeni argued that the case should not have been heard because Zuma had conceded that the Public Protector’s remedial actions were binding.“Once Zuma conceded the EFF and DA applicants were entitled to the relief they sought‚ the Concourt should‚ notwithstanding its wider discretion‚ have dismissed the Nkandla case.“Certainly‚ gratuitous writing of a long judgment condemning both the president and the National Assembly in a moot case portrays bias or political grand-standing‚” he wrote in the Sunday Independent. - TMG Digital..