DA Tells Zuma to “Bring It On”


By Ntokozo Sindane    24-Aug-2013 06:51 UTC+02:00
President Jacob Zuma is appealing the court decision which ordered him to release the contents of the “spy tapes”. – image - www.geektech.in

President Jacob Zuma is appealing the court decision which ordered him to release the contents of the “spy tapes”. – image – www.geektech.in

The North Gauteng High Court ruled that President Jacob Zuma should make the “spy tapes” accessible to the Democratic Alliance. This decision did not sit well with the president. President Zuma and his legal team believe that the court is mistaken in its judgment and as such, the president and his men have decided to escalate this matter.

On Friday, Judge Rammaka Mathopo instructed the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba, to ensure that the transcripts of the controversial tapes are delivered to the registrar within five working days. The tapes apparently shed light into the decision to withdraw charges against the president in 2009. The Head of the NPA at that time was Mokotedi Mpshe. It was his decision to drop the fraud and corruption charges against Zuma. The DA wishes to satisfy itself, and the South African public, that the motivation to dismiss the allegations against Zuma was not political.

President Zuma is appealing the court’s recent decision. According to media reports, one of the grounds for the appeal is that the tapes should not be shared because they formed an integral part of the president’s representation. The DA Federal Executive Chairperson James Selfe summarized the appeal as follows: “The application for leave to appeal argues that the court ‘erred’ on basically every point in the judgment.”

The Democratic Alliance is particularly interested in establishing where the appeal will be heard seeing as the North Gauteng High Court and the Supreme High Court have both come to the same decision on this matter. The DA is certain that this is nothing but a delay tactic by the president. This raises another concern for the opposition party; taxpayer’s money is being used for this legal process and the longer the president delays the conclusion, the more expensive it becomes. The DA would also appreciate information about the exact financial implications of this legal battle on the taxpayer.

Many in the public are disappointed that President Zuma is not taking advantage of this opportunity to clear his name of any wrong-doing regarding the withdrawal of the charges against him. Instead, the president is intent on doing all he can to prevent the information on the “spy tapes” from ending up in the hands of the DA. The president wants to make sure that this information never becomes public knowledge.

The DA remains unshaken by the appeal. Selfe dared the president: “All we can say to President Zuma’s legal team is bring it on.” Selfe said that the DA will fight the appeal so that South Africa can get the truth.


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