President must explain, Masetlha argues

Masetlha\'s counsel, Neil Tuchten, SC, told the court: ‘Our claim is: \'I am director of the NIA; you have to justify any claim to terminate employment before the due date and it is up to you to say how you did it.’ His term could not be ended under the law of contract, because he did not have a contract – all Masetlha had was a letter of appointment, Tuchten submitted. Masetlha is asking the Constitutional Court to overturn a Pretoria High Court ruling upholding his dismissal. He was suspended in October 2005 and dismissed in March last year over hoax e-mails that said that senior ANC members were conspiring against its Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, and Secretary-General, Kgalema Motlanthe. ‘ Masetlha contends that the decision to suspend him was not made by the President, but by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, who did not have the legal capacity to do so. Alternatively, he argues that the decision breached his right to procedural fairness under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act as, among other things, he was not given a hearing. Judgment has been reserved Full report on the Mail & Guardian Online site

Masetlha\'s counsel suggested that he be reinstated to his position, but under suspension for 15 working days. During this time, he would expect President Thabo Mbeki to take steps ‘to achieve a consensual resolution’ of matters pertaining to his dismissal. Alternatively, says a report on the IoL site, Mbeki would be required to take steps to ‘take a proper decision’ on Masetlha. Should the President do neither, he would be deemed to have returned Masetlha to office in the best interests of the country. Full report on the IoL site

Earlier, Chief Justice Pius Langa handed down an interim ruling that the heads of argument and record of proceedings in the case will be open to the public. ‘The record of proceedings would be available to the public at the office of the registrar from noon on May 14,’ a report on the IoL site quotes him as saying. ‘Any party who wishes to object to the disclosure of any documents in the record must, in a notice filed no later than noon on May 11, identify the documents to which the objection related and the grounds for the objection,’ Langa ordered. His decision comes after the Independent Group brought an application for access after the heads of argument were removed from public domain because certain documents were marked top secret. The court heard that neither council for the President, Ishmael Semenya SC, nor that for Masetlha, Neil Tuchten SC, objected to this as all the information had already been in the public domain. Although all parties agreed, council for the Independent Group, Gilbert Marcus, asked that the court make a finding. He argued that a mere agreement between parties could subvert the interests of justice. Masetlha is asking the Constitutional Court to overturn a Pretoria High Court ruling upholding his dismissal. Full report on IoL site