The uMkhonto weSizwe Party, spearheaded by former president Jacob Zuma, has told the court that President Cyril Ramaphosa was running the country illegally.
MK Party lawyer advocate Dali Mpofu SC made this utterance when the Pretoria High Court heard an urgent application Thursday to interdict and dismantle the Madlanga commission of inquiry probing alleged corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system.
Mpofu claimed that the entire country has been operating illegally ever since KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi delivered a bombshell briefing on political meddling in police probes on July 6.
Political killings task team
Mpofu said the controversy in the matter is the abrupt disbandment of the KZN political killings task team and whispers of deep ties between suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and shadowy criminal syndicates.
Mpofu declared the commission itself a constitutional affront.
“There is an acting minister, a minister or whatever [Professor Firoz Cachalia] who is illegally appointed, so actually the whole country is now being run illegally.
“You assume that there is another minister who is called the minister of police who is on leave, being paid by the taxpayer for at least the next six months for doing nothing,” Mpofu said.
He rejected any suggestion that the issue could be postponed.
“How do we wait when the country is at the brink of collapse? On what basis can one say, ‘No, we will hear this in due course’? What is due course?
“Due course means February-March next year when the commission will be done, with R3 million or whatever of taxpayers’ money later, then the court can say, “oh no, six months ago this was illegal,'” he added.
Abuse of state power
He further accused Ramaphosa of abusing state power and resources.
“There are allegations of abuse of state power; all those things are present in this case, 10 times if you like.
“Minister Mchunu has a relationship with President Cyril Ramaphosa; that is why he did this whole hullabaloo. It is to save his friend or political ally from the action, which should be the dismissal.
“That is why he acted inconsistently; for instance, if you look at what he did with the DA deputy minister whose only sin was that he went overseas compared to how he treats someone who is said to be working with drug cartels and all that,” Mpofu stated.
The MK Party’s grievances are that Mchunu interfered and seized 121 dockets from the political killings task team, derailing investigations into a string of brutal political assassinations in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Let’s just pause and be human for a minute. Imagine that one of those people who were killed in the political killings is your mother, father or brother and that investigation is not happening, and when we come here, we say that investigation is not urgent?
“These are human beings like you and me, and their dockets were taken by drug lords.”
Blame put on Ramaphosa
Mpofu told the court that Ramaphosa did not respond when they asked for reasons for his actions.
“We sent a letter asking the president questions on how he came to the decisions he made. What kind of president does not want to account? Fifteen questions, and then you give us the middle finger?
“If you do that, you are denying the litigant the right to go to court and ask for rationality, because how are you going to ask for rationality if you don’t have the reasons?”
