The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday argued that the alleged improper conduct by the then boss of the now defunct Scorpions Leonard McCarthy between November and December 2007 in no material way affected President Jacob Zuma.
The then acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Mokotedi Mpshe relied on intercepted conversations between McCarthy and former NDPP boss Bulelani Ngcuka‚ commonly referred to as the Spy Tapes‚ to discontinue the prosecution of Zuma‚ who had been charged with 783 counts of fraud‚ corruption and racketeering.
Nearly seven years after Mpshe’s decision‚ the DA on Tuesday asked the full bench of the high court in Pretoria to review and set aside Mpshe’s decision.
The conversations on the tapes‚ that were provided to Mpshe by Zuma’s legal team during March 2009‚ are mainly between Ngcuka and McCarthy.
The two discussed‚ among other things‚ whether then President Thabo Mbeki’s prospects to be re-elected as African National Congress president would be strengthened if the indictment against Zuma were to be served before‚ during or after the ANC’s elective conference in Polokwane in December 2007. Zuma was eventually charged on December 28 2007.
In his announcement of the discontinuation of the prosecution‚ Mpshe said any timing of charges which was not aimed at serving a legitimate purpose was improper‚ irregular and an abuse of process.
“A prosecutor who uses a legal process against an accused person to accomplish a purpose for which it is not designed abuses the criminal justice system and subjects the accused person to that abuse of process‚” Mpshe said on April 6 2009.
In his arguments on Tuesday‚ DA counsel Sean Rosenberg SC said Mpshe’s decision was an impulsive one.
“It was not a reasoned decision. It was not a rational decision. It was a decision which reflected his own sense of betrayal and anger and outrage over the McCarthy’s conduct‚” Rosenberg said.
“There was a sense of outrage and betrayal.”
Rosenberg said the prosecuting team had taken a decision during November 2007 to charge Zuma.
Rosenberg said there was really no need after November 2007 for a consideration of whether to prosecute.
He said Mpshe then met the then Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla on December 5 2007 to inform her that the NPA had decided to reinstitute charges against Zuma. Rosenberg said Mabandla raised concerns about security implications if the indictment was served on Zuma before the Polokwane conference.
Rosenberg said Mpshe himself had spoken to head of the Zuma prosecuting team Billy Downer on December 4 2007 and raised the possibility of postponing the serving of the indictment on Zuma.
“What we see is that at the end of the day‚ the service of the indictment ultimately took place on the 28th of December 2007. It is not all sure whether (the indictment) would have been served prior to 16 December. It is also not clear whether considerations of security that justice minister Mabandla shared with Mpshe played any role in that decision.”
Rosenberg said if one were to accept that McCarthy’s conduct in any way influenced the decision to delay the service of the indictment‚ it was insignificant in the broader scheme.
Rosenberg said McCarthy’s conduct did not play a significant role to infringe Zuma’s rights.
Arguments in the application continue. — Source: Tiso Black Star Group Courts and Law
'Spy tapes' conversations had no impact on Zuma charges - DA
The then acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Mokotedi Mpshe relied on intercepted conversations between McCarthy and former NDPP boss Bulelani Ngcuka‚ commonly referred to as the Spy Tapes‚ to discontinue the prosecution of Zuma‚ who had been charged with 783 counts of fraud‚ corruption and racketeering.
Nearly seven years after Mpshe’s decision‚ the DA on Tuesday asked the full bench of the high court in Pretoria to review and set aside Mpshe’s decision.
The conversations on the tapes‚ that were provided to Mpshe by Zuma’s legal team during March 2009‚ are mainly between Ngcuka and McCarthy.
The two discussed‚ among other things‚ whether then President Thabo Mbeki’s prospects to be re-elected as African National Congress president would be strengthened if the indictment against Zuma were to be served before‚ during or after the ANC’s elective conference in Polokwane in December 2007. Zuma was eventually charged on December 28 2007.
In his announcement of the discontinuation of the prosecution‚ Mpshe said any timing of charges which was not aimed at serving a legitimate purpose was improper‚ irregular and an abuse of process.
“A prosecutor who uses a legal process against an accused person to accomplish a purpose for which it is not designed abuses the criminal justice system and subjects the accused person to that abuse of process‚” Mpshe said on April 6 2009.
In his arguments on Tuesday‚ DA counsel Sean Rosenberg SC said Mpshe’s decision was an impulsive one.
“It was not a reasoned decision. It was not a rational decision. It was a decision which reflected his own sense of betrayal and anger and outrage over the McCarthy’s conduct‚” Rosenberg said.
“There was a sense of outrage and betrayal.”
Rosenberg said the prosecuting team had taken a decision during November 2007 to charge Zuma.
Rosenberg said there was really no need after November 2007 for a consideration of whether to prosecute.
He said Mpshe then met the then Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla on December 5 2007 to inform her that the NPA had decided to reinstitute charges against Zuma. Rosenberg said Mabandla raised concerns about security implications if the indictment was served on Zuma before the Polokwane conference.
Rosenberg said Mpshe himself had spoken to head of the Zuma prosecuting team Billy Downer on December 4 2007 and raised the possibility of postponing the serving of the indictment on Zuma.
“What we see is that at the end of the day‚ the service of the indictment ultimately took place on the 28th of December 2007. It is not all sure whether (the indictment) would have been served prior to 16 December. It is also not clear whether considerations of security that justice minister Mabandla shared with Mpshe played any role in that decision.”
Rosenberg said if one were to accept that McCarthy’s conduct in any way influenced the decision to delay the service of the indictment‚ it was insignificant in the broader scheme.
Rosenberg said McCarthy’s conduct did not play a significant role to infringe Zuma’s rights.
Arguments in the application continue. — Source: Tiso Black Star Group Courts and Law
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