The Jacob Zuma foundation has rejected the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) statement recusing President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Zuma vs Karyn Maughan and Billy Downer matter.
On Thursday last week, Zuma launched a private prosecution against Ramaphosa. The foundation confirmed that the former president is suing his successor in relation to his case against state prosecutor Downer and Media24 journalist Maughan, who he alleges unlawfully leaked his medical records.
The foundation said Ramaphosa was “an accessory after the fact in the crimes committed by among others, advocate Downer, namely breaching the provisions of the NPA Act” in his corruption case.
However, the Presidency refuted the allegations, saying Zuma is abusing legal processes, and stating that the charges are “spurious and unfounded”.
“In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act, a private prosecution can only be instituted after the individual prosecuting has obtained a certificate of non-prosecution,” the Presidency said on Friday.
“The certificate serves as a legal confirmation that the NPA will not proceed with the prosecution following its consideration of the charges.
“Mr Zuma has not provided such a certificate with charges in the name of president Ramaphosa. The summons served to the president is hopelessly sub-standard and demonstrates absolute disregard of the law.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the NPA said the nolle prosequi certificate, which Zuma relies on, includes anyone named in the affidavits and statements in the case but Ramaphosa.
Said advocate Rodney De Kock, head of National Prosecution Services: “As background, the NPA issued two nolle prosequi certificates in good faith and 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.
“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, according to the JG Foundation spokesperson Zwanele Manyi, the NPA is taking sides by trying to rescue the president.
“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. This is totally unheard of. This statement is demonstrably false and it is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to rescue Mr Ramaphosa.
“Paragraph 17 of the relevant affidavit reads as follows: ‘The alleged conduct also forms part of separate proceedings which are conducted by the president of the Republic, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa …The relevant complaint letter written to President Ramaphosa and his response form part of the full papers in an application, which I brought to supplement my plea in any criminal trial’.
“It is therefore totally mind boggling how any member of the NPA who has had any sight of the docket can even begin to falsely state that the president 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,” Manyi said.
The NPA must decide whether it will prosecute the president or not, according to Mnayi, who said the authority needs to stay away from this dispute between the former president and his successor.
“We challenge the NPA to tell the country once and for all whether it is prepared to prosecute Mr Ramaphosa as an accessory after the fact in respect of the offences raised in the police complaint. If so, then the private prosecution must be stopped. If not, then it will have no option but to issue a certificate to that effect, which will bring us to the exact same position as the present. This shows the futility of the NPA’s intervention, which constitutes further abuse of state resources, which has characterised this matter by certain organs such as the state attorney and the spokesperson in the presidency.
“The NPA must stay out of this dispute and humble itself to the final say of courts in the interpretation of what the NPA meant to convey in using phrases like “any person” and “in connection with the matter”. Subjective statements in that regard are not worth the paper they are written on,” he said.
Manyi said Ramaphosa remains criminally charged and is expected to appear in court on January 19.
“Mr Ramaphosa remains criminally charged and is to appear before the Johannesburg High Court in person on the 19th of January 2023 at 09h30.”
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