Case may end Abrahams' reign as NPA boss

National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shaun Abrahams could be out of office sooner than expected if his predecessor, Mxolisi Nxasana, gets the job back. The issue is at the heart of a case to be heard in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) this week when Corruption Watch, Freedom Under Law and the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution, seek to have the settlement under which Nxasana left office in 2015 set aside. As a Business Day report points out, if the application is successful, Nxasana would have to pay back a R17m golden handshake but he would be back in the post. Nxasana left the NPA less than two years into his term as NDPP, after President Jacob Zuma initially indicated he would establish a commission of inquiry to establish if Nxasana was fit and proper to hold office, but suddenly ditched the plan in favour of a settlement. The report notes Nxasana had obtained a legal opinion which suggested that disciplinary action be taken against deputy NDPP Nomgcobo Jiba, head of the specialised Commercial Crimes Unit Lawrence Mrwebi and Sibongile Mzinyathi, Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng. Freedom Under Law and Corruption Watch stated that just as Nxasana obtained the legal advice against the senior state advocates the President took steps to remove him. The court will have to determine who has lied under oath – the President claimed in court papers that Nxasana requested to leave the office; Nxasana says he didn’t. The applicants argue the only sensible inference on the payout of Nxasana’s salary for his full term was that ‘Nxasana was paid to leave office’. In an affidavit Nxasana says he did not ask to leave, and that he was willing to pay back the money and take up his position as NDPP.