Comrades,
The process of appointing the Head of the NPA or, to use the official title the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), is clearly important. The law states that the salary of the NDPP shall not be less than that of a judge of the High Court! However I'm not so sure if it will be feasible to follow the same route of appointing as the one applicable to judges. Where will this lead? Next thing we will say the Governor of the Reserve Bank must also be appointed that way, the same with the Public Protector, the Auditor General, the Chair of the Human Rights Commission etc. For me it is not just the process of appointing that is important, but how the NDPP earns and maintains the integrity and legitimacy of that institution through his conduct that is more important! I am of the view that through the conduct of the 3 NDPPs we have had so far (Ngcuka, Pikoli and Mpshe), the NPA has a serious problem of credibility and legitimacy. When you look at certain prominent prosecutions in the post apartheid era, serious questions remain unanswered. Winnie Mandela, Allan Boesak, Tony Yengeni, Shabir Shaik have all been vigorously investigated and successfully prosecuted. The same vigour and success was conspicuously absent in the investigation and prosecution of Magnus Malan & 19 others (for the massacre of 13 people from KwaMakutha - was found not guilty); Wouter Basson (for 46 charges including murder, drug trafficking, fraud and theft of R40 million - not guilty); Mark Thatcher (who plea bargained and escaped with a suspended sentence and a fine for plotting to overthrow the oil rich Equitorial Guinnea); Peter Zimmermann, a lawyer from Switzerland was caught red-handed in his hotel room sodomising a 14 year old boy from Alex but plea bargained and escaped with a fine and a suspended sentence. Why did the Scorpions not use their extensive powers of search & seizure, including raiding lawyers offices in these cases. Fikile Mbalula was spot on when he wrote in HLOMELANG of August 2007 and said, "While we have expressed support to the NPA actions to bring charges against Vlok and van der Merwe, their track record does not inspire confidence. We have all been witness to the botched prosecutions of Magnus Malan, Wouter Basson, Phillip Powell and Mark Thatcher. Indeed, in each of these cases, the NPA demonstrated unbelievable ineptitude that cost the country dearly. If they expect society to respect them and have confidence in them, they must start treating our people seriously and appreciate that every time they bring an apartheid mastermind before the courts, they are creating great expectations." Others have been dealt with by the NPA in what I can only describe as trial by innuendo, examples being JZ, Mac Maharaj and indeed Ngoako Ramatlhodi himself (by the way I would support his appointment as NDPP). My point therefore is that we should not be unduly obsessed with how the NDPP gets appointed and not seriously engage with the selective enthusiasm and vigour with which investigations and prosecutions are done. If that it is the understanding of prosecutorial independence, then it is a very dangerous notion! There must be political oversight that ensures that the NPA accounts for the failures of certain prosecutions while other prosecutions are successful. There must also be strict guidelines on plea bargaining. I am also in full agreement with S'thembiso Msomi when he says in today's Times newspaper that: "There is an urgent need for an investigation into the role of state institutions in the political blood-letting that characterised the run-up to last year's ANC national conference. We need to separate fact from fiction." ASIKHULUME!!! Mthimkulu Mashiya _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of sabelo gina Sent: 10 December 2008 09:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] Re: Time is ripe for Ngoako Ramathlodi to be head of NPA Comrades, What about the Nicholson judgement that proposes a new format of appointing the Head Of NDPP, in that it should follow the same format as appointment of judges? What are the views of other comrades. Asikhulume On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 9:37 AM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Does this mean than that comrade Ramathlodi should step down as a member of the NEC or should he remean? and what are the implection(both politicaly and operationly within and outside the NPA)if he were to head the NPA and still remean an NEC member? ------------------------------------------- South Africas premier free email service - www.webmail.co.za <http://www.webmail.co.za/> ------------------------------------------------------------------ For super low premiums, click here http://home.webmail.co.za/dd.pwm <br --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] . 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