Durban - Two men, NPA head Shaun Abrahams and controversial former KPMG auditor Johannes van der Walt, will play starring roles in the drama around President Jacob Zuma finally having his day in court to face corruption charges.
This follows the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissal of an appeal by the NPA and Zuma against a high court order which had set aside the decision to withdraw charges against the president.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) joined a number of civil society organisations and political parties in their call for Abrahams to reinstate 783 fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering charges against Zuma stemming from the corruption conviction of his financial adviser Schabir Shaik.
The DA’s Mmusi Maimane threatened to approach another court if Abrahams failed to charge Zuma within the next nine days.
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“The matter is now straightforward. The charges now stand, and a court of law must hear this matter.
“If the president is innocent, as he proclaims, he ought to let a trial court decide on his innocence.
“His actions over the last decade smack of a desperate attempt to avoid this eventuality. These are the actions of a man who knows he has a lot to answer for,” Maimane said.
Maimane was adamant that no one was above the law and urged Abrahams to act swiftly on the matter.
Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said Abrahams must reinstate all the charges against Zuma without any further delay.
Also read: #SpyTapes: SCA dismisses appeal by Zuma, NPA
“The SCA unanimously refused to overturn a Pretoria High Court judgment, which it said ‘cannot be faulted’, that the decision in 2009 to withdraw the 783 criminal charges was ‘irrational’ and ruled that the charges must be reinstated.”
In an interesting twist to the SCA ruling, Zuma hinted that he would use the tarnished image of KPMG to question the audit report used by the trial court in the Schabir Shaik case 13 years ago to quash fresh charges against him.
The KPMG report was part of the evidence in the Shaik trial which led to his conviction and the auditing firm had presented a 260-page report in the Durban High Court.
Ironically, the auditor who compiled the now discredited Sars “rogue unit” report that led to the dismissal of former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, was also involved in compiling the audit report used in the Shaik trial.
During the trial Van der Walt, according to media reports at the time, admitted to having disregarded some of the information at his disposal when compiling his audit report for the trial.
Zuma said he would make fresh representations to the National Prosecuting Authority after he lost his fight in the Supreme Court of Appeal. “Any person has the right to make such representations and an expectation that a legitimate decision will be made” said Zuma’s spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga.
“These representations will be amplified in light of developments in the ensuing period, not least of all of which are the recent revelations around the integrity of the audit report which underpins the prosecution,” he said.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, speaking on the side lines ANC Veterans’ League conference, said the ANC was considering the situation.
“The NPA will decide whether to charge the president. It has not been decided yet. Let’s allow that process to take its course and then the ANC will decide thereafter,” he said.
Mantashe said Zuma’s bid to appeal the High Court ruling was his constitutional right.
He likened the atmosphere surrounding the judgment on Friday to the atmosphere 10 years ago in Polokwane when the party prepared to elect a new leadership. He said politics often played out in this manner.
Meanwhile, reacting to the SCA’s judgment, MK Veteran’s Council chairperson General Simphiwe Nyanda said the ruling was significant for Zuma and the ANC.
"It is incumbent on the ANC that, as these charges have been put back at the door of the president of the ANC, that it sits and thinks hard about how it (ANC) will proceed with a president who is facing so many serious charges.
From our point of view, we think the ANC should engage and interrogate how they could go on with a president that is so compromised,” he said.
The UDM, Cope and African Christian Democratic Party called for Zuma to face the full might of the law.
Zuma will likely face a legal claim of more than R10 million from the Democratic Alliance after the failure of his appeal.
On Friday, DA Federal Council chairman James Selfe said his party, had in its eight-year legal battle against Zuma, spent more than R10m in legal fees alone and, after the SCA judgment, they would file for proceedings to recoup the money from Zuma and the NPA.
Selfe conceded that Zuma might consider appealing the SCA ruling in the Constitutional Court but said that his party was ready for such a challenge.
“Yes, there are elements of constitutionality in the ruling but during the appeal process, Zuma’s legal counsel conceded that the decision of the NPA to withdraw the charges was irrational.”
Selfe said Abrahams must formally charge Zuma and haul him before a court of law, saying that “after the formal charges, Zuma can then make representations to the NPA. Abrahams must serve Zuma with an indictment”.