Abrahams gives Zuma more time to defend himself

Just days after the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) intimated that NPA boss Shaun Abrahams was prone to do President Jacob Zuma’s bidding, the country’s top prosecutor has given Zuma another reprieve. In a decision that fits hand-in-glove with Zuma's now well-known delaying tactics – a strategy, as the High Court put it, that banks 'on any advantage that the passage of time may bring' – Abrahams has given his political boss more time to submit fresh representations on why he should not face corruption charges, notes Legalbrief. Zuma's lawyers reportedly wrote to Abrahams on 28 November, indicating that they would be unable to make the cut-off date (30 November) and requesting an extension to 19 February 2018. The NPA was persuaded, 'in the interest of the administration of justice and fairness', to allow an extension to 31 January, according to spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku. Zuma's reasons for requesting the extension include that his lawyers were unavailable until mid-December due to 'prior litigation commitments'; the case is 'complex and voluminous'; there have been developments in the case since Zuma first made representations eight years ago and his team needs time to review these developments.

Whether Abrahams was able to grant such an extension after last week’s judgment is debatable, according to DA federal council chair James Selfe, who added the party was not surprised by the employment of further delaying tactics. A Business Day report makes the point that last week's High Court ruling set aside Abrahams’ appointment as NPA boss and said Zuma had already told the SCA that he had every intention of using the processes available to him to resist prosecution. The court said this would place Abrahams on the spot. The DA, which has been fighting for eight years to have Zuma face corruption charges, has made representations to the NPA and requested that it be allowed to see the President’s submissions. However, in a letter to the DA’s legal team, Abrahams informed the party of the extension granted to Zuma. The DA said the extension showed that Abrahams was hellbent on giving Zuma preferential treatment. ‘Abrahams still refuses to treat Zuma like any other accused. In the normal course of justice, the accused would be charged before a court of law and only then given the opportunity to make representations,’ said Selfe.

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It was disappointing that Abrahams was the one who made the determination to grant the extension, Lawson Naidoo, a constitutional law expert, is quoted as saying in a report in The Mercury. ‘The NPA is not required to hear further representations from Zuma. This matter needs to get to court as soon as possible and I think it’s inappropriate that this National Director appointed by Zuma should make that determination,’ he said. Naidoo said the reasons advanced by Zuma were ‘lame’ and the NPA’s decision was extremely disappointing. Bukani Mngoma, an independent analyst focusing on politics and law, said there was nothing sinister about the NPA granting the extension. ‘This is not unreasonable, especially if you consider that they had requested an extension until February but Abrahams curtailed the request to only two months. It should be considered that in many cases it is very difficult to get legal counsel during the festive season. We also need to consider that for Zuma it is not a matter of simply regurgitating the representations he made in 2009. ‘He needs to find new evidence or new basis on which he will argue that the cases should not be proceeded with,’ he said. Mngoma said the SCA judgment had made it clear that the representations Zuma made before were not enough to form a basis on which the charges could be dropped.

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The decision has come under fire from the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu). ‘We are not aware of any case where someone facing 783 counts of corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering has been given three months to make representations. We challenge Advocate Abrahams to produce a list of other suspected criminals who have been given a chance to make such representations,’ Saftu acting spokesperson Patrick Craven said yesterday, according to a News24 report. ‘All this decision is doing is to confirm that we have moved away from the Freedom Charter and the Constitution that emphatically state that all shall be equal before the law.’ Saftu also condemned the ‘lame excuses’ given by Abrahams, which ‘imply either a complete failure on his part to appreciate the seriousness and urgency of the matter before the court, or, more likely, a political ruse to protect his political ally’. The excuse that Zuma would be unavailable for consultation until after 20 December ‘is probably the real reason for the extension, (as) 20 December is the closing day of the ANC's elective conference, which strongly suggests that Abrahams has a political motive – to avoid embarrassing Zuma at this important event, the outcome of which could determine his political and personal future’. It added: ‘Saftu demands that the SCA rejects this extension and charges Abrahams with defeating the ends of justice or contempt of court for defying its clear ruling. He must also account for his failure to prosecute any of the others against whom there is now clear prima facie evidence of corruption, fraud, money laundering and other financial offences.’

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