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NEWS
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South Africa: 'Zuma Will Be Charged'
December 20, 2007
The prosecution of Jacob Zuma is imminent, the acting National Prosecutions
Authority chief, Mokotedi Mpshe, announced on Thursday morning less than 48
hours after Zuma was elected to lead the ANC.
The announcement comes on the same day that a decision to disband the Scorpions
the unit that investigated Zuma is set to be be rubber-stamped by the ANC at its
conference plenary in Polokwane.
Speaking on Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk, Mpshe said the investigation into Zuma
was complete and "loose ends" were being tied up.
He said the Scorpions would have a case that could be "taken to court". Asked if
prosecution was imminent, he said: "I should say so."
Mpshe is dismayed by the possible dissolution of the unit after delegates voted
during the conference plenary on Wednesday night to disband the Scorpions.
He said they should have been given a chance to reform before being given notice
by the ANC.
"If people were unhappy with anything the Scorpions had done, the matter should
have been taken up with the NPA leadership."
Scorpions investigators will find a new home in the police, while their
prosecuting counterparts will remain in the NPA and the justice department.
But Mpshe believed this was an over-reaction. "You don't solve problems by
wishing away the unit," he said on Wednesday.
Zuma has been a special target of Scorpion raids, causing some to allege that
the unit is being used by the state to derail his presidential ambitions.
The key reasons cited for the decision are the perceived targeting of Zuma; the
suspension of NPA director Vusi Pikoli as he was about to arrest Police
Commissioner Jackie Selebi; and the failure of the Khampepe Commission of
Inquiry into the mandate of the Directorate of Special Operations.
But Mpshe said the ANC should have tried to sort out any problems with the unit
through discussion.
He pointed out that the ANC had no direct power to disband the Scorpions. "The
Scorpions is not a branch of the ANC, but a creature of statute." It was
Parliament that would have to take a decision.
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula would not say on Wednesday whether
he agreed with the decision, but confirmed that the conference's Peace and
Stability Commission had endorsed the proposal, which had been made at the ANC
Policy Conference in June.
On the Selebi affair, Mpshe said a decision on whether to arrest him would not
be taken until after Christmas, once Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla had been
given a chance to reflect on the findings of the review committee.
"She has a right to request reasons for my decision," he said.
He refused to say whether Selebi would be asked to step down pending an
investigation into alleged corruption and racketeering.
Professor Adam Habib, deputy vice-chancellor of Research and Innovation at
Johannesburg University, said the ANC's bid to disband the Scorpions might not
save Zuma from prosecution if that was indeed part of the motivation.
He understood that the pending prosecution was a "done deal".
"Whether they like it or not, the investigation is complete, so it can't
actually be a means to protect Jacob Zuma.
"It may be an attempt to protect certain (people) in certain circumstances in
future. But my answer would be: what circumstances?
If a person is guilty we should have the mechanisms to investigate them. I can't
see this case disappearing."
On possible political interference in a Zuma prosecution, Habib said: "His
election as ANC president makes it incredibly unlikely.
"If there was interference, everybody will see it as coming from the president
and there would be a major public outcry."
Habib said it could not be assumed that Mbeki would fold and accept pressure for
charges to be dropped. Similarly, prosecutors were independent and did not
require anyone's permission to prosecute.
He said that if he was Zuma's strategist, he would advise him to let the matter
play itself out in court. Being found innocent would clear his name, and he
could apply for a presidential pardon if found guilty.
The DA spokesperson on safety and security, Dianne Kohler Barnard, said in an
interview with the Cape Argus: "We are extremely concerned about a further move
on the part of the ANC to centralise power under one single source.
"Two, we're extremely concerned that the implications it may have on cases" such
as the possible case against Selebi.
"Third, it would be construed globally as a definite attempt on the part of Zuma
and his supporters to quash any further case against him."
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Source: All Africa
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