NPA boss met Zuma the day before announcing charges

NPA boss Shaun Abrahams met President Jacob Zuma and three Cabinet Ministers at the ANC’s headquarters the day before he announced he was charging Pravin Gordhan with fraud, says a Sunday Times report. It notes the meeting has raised fresh questions about political motives in the move against Gordhan, and will fuel doubts about the independence of the NPA, although Abrahams and Zuma insisted the charge was not discussed. Abrahams reportedly said he went to the ANC’s headquarters at the invitation of Justice Minister Michael Masutha. ‘I was, however, at Luthuli House (on) Monday afternoon at the request of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, where I attended a meeting relating to the state of anarchy as a direct result of the violent student unrest . . . with, inter alia, the Minister of Justice, Minister of State Security, Minister of Social Development and the President,’ Abrahams said. Bongani Ngqulunga, Zuma’s spokesperson, confirmed the meeting but said the President had not invited Abrahams. ‘President Zuma called some Ministers to provide him with updates on the security situation at university campuses,’ he said. The report quotes Luthuli House insiders as saying news of Gordhan’s pending charges reached the ANC headquarters on the same day Abrahams visited the building. The next day Abrahams announced the NPA would charge Gordhan with fraud. The report adds it is unclear why, if this was a government meeting, it was held at Luthuli House. And why, if the universities crisis was the reason for the meeting, were police representatives and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande not present.