DA leader Mmusi Maimane, with the official opposition's Federal Council Chairman James Selfe addressing a press briefing on the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision on President Jacob Zuma on Friday. Picture: Jonisayi Maromo/ANA
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the judgment handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Friday dismissing with costs an appeal by President Jacob Zuma and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the spy tapes saga.
Justice Eric Leach upheld a 2016 North Gauteng High Court ruling that the decision in 2009 by the NPA to drop more than 783 charges of corruption, fraud and racketeering against Zuma, stemming from the 1999 multibillion-rand arms deal scandal should be overturned.
Addressing the media in Pretoria shortly after the ruling, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said he would write to NPA head Shaun Abrahams “insisting” that the president should be served with the indictment of the charges and appears in court at the soonest available date.
“Advocate Abrahams must commit to reinstating all 783 charges, and furnish the people of South Africa with a date by which these charges will be processed. Adv Abrahams must give us a response within 10 days. The charges have been formulated and the evidence is ready. We now await a trial date,” Maimane said in a prepared statement.
He said the DA suspected Zuma would want to make fresh representations relating to why the charges against him should be dropped, but the DA said that was unnecessary, as he had made written and oral representations on why the same charges should to be dropped back in 2009, and these representations were rejected.
“While everyone has the right to approach the courts for relief, the matter at hand is a simple one, and requires no further deliberation. We urge President Zuma to stop wasting public funds through lengthy legal appeals, and to accept the fact that he will stand trial for 783 charges of corruption fraud and racketeering,” said Maimane.
The DA leader estimated that the president’s delaying tactics in the courts to date had cost taxpayers about R30 million. He said Zuma should be held personally liable and made to pay for “wasting valuable financial resources”.
Maimane said Friday’s SCA ruling presented a “golden opportunity” for Abrahams to show his independence and proceed with prosecuting Zuma as planned by giving him a chance to have his day in court.
“The DA has always maintained that the president may not be guilty, but that he has his day in court, as is consistent with the Rule of Law and due process. The President himself has stated on numerous occasions that he wants his day in court.
“In the absence of any legitimate factual or legal reasons, the DA is led to believe that these charges were dropped for political purposes: a political solution needed to be found to drop charges against a person who was about to become President, and the Spy Tapes provided the convenient excuse that has now been set aside,” said Maimane.
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