Law Society condemns attacks on Zuma judge

The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) has strongly condemned the latest round of attacks on the judiciary, particularly what it describes as ‘the disturbing personal attack by a branch of the ANC Youth League and by Mr Mzwanele Manyi, on Judge Bashier Vally’ as a result of his judgment against President Jacob Zuma in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria). ‘Such unwarranted attacks appear to have the sole aim of undermining the judiciary,’ a LSSA statement says. The court ordered the President – who has applied for leave to appeal – to submit the record and reasons of the decision to reshuffle his Cabinet. ‘… we are shocked by the disturbing accusations against Judge Vally – and the judiciary in general – and regard them as an attack on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary,’ say LSSA co-chairpersons Walid Brown and David Bekker. Should they feel strongly about their convictions, the LSSA urges the complainants to submit these complaints with full grounds to the JSC for urgent investigation. The LSSA also urged the ANC and government to distance themselves from these statements, which in the absence of substantiated allegations, must be seen as an attack on the judiciary. It was reported this week that Manyi claimed the ruling showed corruption in the judiciary. ‘The manner in which Judge Bashier Vally has dealt with the matter, is prima facie evidence of the corruption in the justice system,’ he said on the Gupta TV channel, ANN7. He claimed Vally didn’t engage substantially on the legal issues before the court.