By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation has lashed out at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) after it on Wednesday confirmed that the nolle prosequi certificate issued for the Billy Downer case did not extend to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This has now thrown a major spanner in the works of Zuma’s private prosecution of Ramaphosa.
Last week, on the eve of the 55th ANC Elective Conference, Zuma instituted a private prosecution summons against Ramaphosa in a bid to have the NPA lead prosecutor, Advocate Billy Downer, removed from the arms deal corruption trial.
Zuma accused Ramaphosa “for being an accessory after the fact in the crimes committed by among others Downer namely for breaching the provisions of the NPA Act”.
Ramaphosa’s lawyers wrote to Zuma demanding he withdraw the private prosecution by latest Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the NPA’s advocate Rodney De Kock, the head of prosecution services, said the NPA had issued two “nolle prosequi” certificates in good faith to Zuma in compliance with Section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
“These certificates were issued in direct relation to the docket (Pietermaritzburg CAS 309/10/21) which contained statements and affidavits relating to specific individuals for alleged contravention of Section 41 (6) read with Section 41(7) of the NPA Act.”
De Kock, clarified: “The nolle certificates apply to any persons who are specifically mentioned in the docket. The president was not mentioned in any of the affidavits or statements, and thus the certificates were not issued in relation to him”.
However, the Jacob Zuma Foundation has rejected the NPA’s statement.
“The foundation rejects with the contempt it deserves, the improper and unprofessional attempt by the NPA to play the judge in interpreting its own certificate which is the subject of a dispute between the private prosecutor and an accused person.”
“The crux of the NPA statement is that the certificates were not issued in relation to the president because “the president was not mentioned in any of the affidavits and statements” which form part of the docket. Nothing could be further from the truth. This statement is demonstrably false and it is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to rescue Ramaphosa,” it said.
The foundation said it is “mind boggling” how any member of the NPA who has had any sight of the docket can even begin to falsely state that Ramaphosa is not mentioned in the docket.
“Indeed, even if the denial was true, it would still be inappropriate for the NPA to so blatantly take sides in favour of a criminal suspect.
“Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act allows the NPA to – apply by motion to the court before which the private prosecution is pending to stop all further proceedings in the case in order that a prosecution of the offence in question may be instituted, or, as the case may be, continued at the instance of the State, and the court shall make such an order.”
The foundation said beyond that role, the NPA has no business interfering in the matter and has labelled the prosecuting authority’s decision to weigh in on the matter “improper and unprofessional”.