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Picture: City Press
The Democratic Alliance’s seven-year battle to have President Jacob
Zuma stand trial on corruption charges will drag on for a bit longer after the
North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria reserved judgment in the matter today.
A full bench of judges heard arguments from lawyers for the
National Prosecuting Authority, Zuma, and the Democratic Alliance, which
initially brought the case to court in 2009.
The NPA and Zuma’s lawyers wanted leave to appeal the court’s
ruling on April 29 that the decision to discontinue the prosecution against Zuma
on 783 corruption charges should be reviewed and set aside.
At the time, Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said then-NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe
acted irrationally after coming under pressure.
Hilton Epstein, for the NPA, said the matter impinged on vital
constitutional issues as it concerned Zuma, the NPA, and the national director
of public prosecutions.
Ledwaba questioned why the two legal teams had not approached the
Constitutional Court, after repeatedly stating it was a matter of constitutional
importance.
Kemp J Kemp, for Zuma, said they respected judicial structures.
Epstein said the Constitutional Court did not like appeals being
brought directly to it, and appreciated the benefit of having the opinion of the
Supreme Court of Appeal.
On April 6 2009, Mpshe said transcripts of telephone conversations
between then-Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka
showed political interference in the decision to charge Zuma.
The charges were withdrawn in the High Court in Durban on April 7
2009.
Kemp argued that the DA had sought relief from the court regarding
Mpshe’s decision. They had not sought relief in terms of the reinstating of the
charges against Zuma.
Johan de Waal, for the DA, argued that setting aside Mpshe’s
decision automatically resulted in the charges against Zuma being reinstated. –
News24
