The National Prosecuting Authority are between the devil and deep blue when it comes ANC president Jacob Zuma. If they drop the corruption, racketeering, tax evasion and fraud charges against him, they will be accused of sacrificing their independence and subverting the rule of law. If they press on, the Zuma camp will accuse them of being part of a continuing political conspiracy against him.

From the leaks about the spy tapes that Zuma’s legal team have presented to the NPA in a bid to get his charges dropped, we can assume that the taped telephone recordings amount to blackmail. Those who’ve had their phones tapped include former president Thabo Mbeki, former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka and former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy.

The animosity between Zuma and Ngcuka goes back to the struggle days and came on the radar screen again before and during the Hefer Commission. So I think we can deduce that the tapes show inappropriate discussions by the NPA themselves regarding the Zuma investigation.

The NPA cannot credibly drop the charges as evidence of Zuma receiving payments from his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik, who has been convicted for corruption, had been upheld by the Constitutional Court. That evidence cannot go away therefore the right thing for the NPA to do is continue with the Zuma prosecution but also to investigate and prosecute those in the NPA if there has been a conspiracy. See a blog that explains this by Pierre de Vos, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of the Western Cape, here.

There is a blog on Thought Leader about this. Khaya Dlanga also says Zuma must have his day in court — as he has asked for — and so must Mbeki if there is evidence of him taking part in a conspiracy against Zuma. But Dlanga is most concerned that the ANC’s arrogance means that it cannot distinguish between personal and national interest.

We have become victims of our liberation, hostages to our own freedom and slaves to those who think that we owe them for our liberation. I owe my liberty to man and no political party. It belongs to me. None of us owe it to anyone. This slavery to the ANC must come to an end.

Read the blog here.

Another blogger on Thought Leader, lawyer Michael Trapido, shows that if a case exists then the motive for bringing it is irrelevant, according to the Supreme Court of Appeals judgment handed down by Judge Harms in the matter of the NDPP versus Jacob Zuma… THE VERY JUDGMENT THAT SAW ZUMA’S CHARGES BEING WITHDRAWN EARLIER (before the matter went to the Constutional Court). Read this fascinating blog here.

Very interesting times we live in. The only thing I ponder is what would you charge someone with if there’s evidence of there being a conspiracy against Zuma: subverting the course of justice? A case could be made for defamation but that’s a civil suit. Does anyone know?

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