Finish & Klaar by Adriaan Basson

Author:Adriaan Basson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780624057970
Publisher: Tafelberg
Published: 2012-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

The relentless state prosecutor, Gerrie Nel. Picture: Bongiwe Gumede/Foto24

9 Selebi hits back

The saga around Selebi is getting so absurd that it looks more like a James Bond movie than an ordinary law and order matter. What next? … Selebi asking for asylum in Tjikitjikistan?

– Constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos, 11 January 2008 169

By the end of November 2007 the independent panel under Advocate Mbuyiseli Madlanga had completed its evaluation of the strength of the state’s case against Jackie Selebi and handed its report to acting NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe. Speculation was rife that the panel had agreed with Pikoli, now suspended, that Selebi had a serious case to answer. But Mpshe was keeping his cards close to his chest. It was only on 16 December 2007 that his office issued this rather obscure press statement:

After studying the report, Advocate Mpshe has made a decision in the matter [my emphasis]. The acting NDPP prepared and submitted a report regarding his decision to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development [Mabandla] at the conclusion of the review process. As the justice minister is the political head of the ministry which the NPA is part of, there is a legislative requisite to keep the minister informed on matters relating to the business of the NPA. This investigation is no exception. Once the minister is properly and sufficiently familiar with the contents of the report, the decision will be made known. The NPA would like to plead with everyone to exercise patience as this process is soon to be concluded.

Mpshe’s statement was worrying for a number of reasons. Although it was correct that Mabandla ultimately had political oversight over the NPA, constitutionally she had no powers to influence or decide matters of prosecution. At most it was a matter of courtesy for Mpshe to inform the justice minister and Mbeki of his decision on whether or not to prosecute Selebi – as Pikoli had done. But the press statement seemed to go further than that. Mpshe’s spelling out that his decision on the Selebi matter was part of the ‘business of the NPA’ about which Mabandla had to be informed, was curious at the least.

This was not routine practice. Nor was it obligatory on the part of Mpshe. South Africa’s Constitution guarantees the prosecutorial independence of the national director of public prosecutions. The powers of the justice minister and her department over the NPA begin and end with the institution having the human resources, facilities and equipment to do its work properly. So why did Mabandla have to be ‘properly and sufficiently familiar with the contents of the report’ before the acting national director of public prosecutions could announce whether he would prosecute or not?

The only inference that could be drawn was that Pikoli’s suspension had had such a chilling effect on the NPA and on Mpshe himself that, as its acting head, he was waiting for Mabandla’s (and by implication Mbeki’s) approval before proceeding with the case.

A day after Mpshe’s statement was

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