Minister, Zuma to meet over NPA boss

In August, Zuma announced the appointment of Mxolisi Nxasana to head the National Prosecuting Authority.

In August, Zuma announced the appointment of Mxolisi Nxasana to head the National Prosecuting Authority.

Published May 30, 2014

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Johannesburg - Justice Minister Michael Masutha has requested a meeting with President Jacob Zuma to discuss NPA boss Mxolisi Nxasana, the SABC reported on Friday.

“I sought urgent audience with the office of the president,” he told the SABC.

“Hopefully in the next few days I'll have that opportunity so that I get first hand impression of the status of the matter in that office, so that I am able to work out for myself what specific role I need to play and that will assist me in being able to establish what exactly I could possibly recommend.”

Earlier, ministry spokesman Lawrence Ngoveni told the SABC that Nxasana would remain in his position until Masutha made a decision on issues around his security clearance.

Nxasana, of the KwaZulu-Natal division of the high court, was appointed by President Jacob Zuma in October 2013.

The Star reported that former justice minister Jeff Radebe called Nxasana to a late night meeting and instructed him to resign, just a few days before Zuma announced his new Cabinet.

Radebe allegedly claimed that Nxasana had not been given a security clearance because of past brushes with the law.

This included being tried for murder about 30 years ago.

“The minister just resumed duty this week. The matter has been brought to his attention,” Ngoveni told the SABC.

“Mr Nxasana remains the national director of public prosecutions until such time as a decision is taken.”

Masutha was familiarising himself with facts around Nxasana's appointment and would determine a way forward once he was done, Ngoveni said.

Nxasana, who was once president of the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society, refused to resign and vowed to challenge the matter in court or an inquiry should he be fired.

The newspaper reported that he admitted in a letter to state security officials this week that he stood trial in 1985 for murder but was acquitted, based on his version of self defence.

He reportedly also admitted to being arrested for “careless driving and refusing arrest” last September, and that he was fined R2000 about 12 years ago, suspended for three years, by the KZN Law Society for misconduct.

Nxasana went further to inquire from state security agency director Simon Ntombela as to why he was not informed of the completion of his verification process as claimed by Radebe.

Nxasana said he had several meetings with Ntombela in which he raised concerns about the delay in finalising his security clearance.

“Two days later, on May 21, I was called by the minister to Pretoria. He said the security agency had declined my status. I would have thought it courteous to inform me,” he wrote in the letter.

Nxasana declined to comment when approached by The Star.

Sapa

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