20100610
Afrol

The corruption case against South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, which was dropped by the prosecution before he became President, still haunts national politics. The opposition fights for documents in the Zuma prosecution case.

South Africa's leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is still fighting for the judiciary to release the prosecution's papers regarding the dropped corruption chares against President Zuma. Their case is currently being heard in the North Gauteng High Court, which will decide whether to release the vast amount of documentation.

"The DA's case is very simple; last year the National Director or Public Prosecutions (NDPP) inexplicably took a crass decision to discontinue a prosecution against Jacob Zuma. The preparation of this prosecution had taken several years and had been described as one of the best prepared cases in South African criminal history," explains opposition spokesman James Selfe.

"The DA believes that this decision was irrational and arbitrary and ultimately illegal and is asking the court to review the decision and set it aside," Mr Selfe adds.

The National Prosecuting Authority in court had argued that the DA should not obtain copies of the decision by its former head Mokotedi Mpshe to discontinue the corruption prosecution against Mr Zuma. It argued that, what is of interest to the public is not necessarily of public interest from a legal perspective.

But Mr Selfe holds that the prosecution "is an organ of state which should be neutral in this matter. It should let the court decide whether its decision was correct or not."

"Instead it is resisting the release of the so-called reduced record - those documents which Mr Mpshe used to arrive at the decision to discontinue the prosecution - with great vigour," the DA spokesman said. "It is advancing every conceivable argument to block a simple and legitimate request. In doing so, its attitude would appear to be bordering on partisanship."

Mr Selfe added that this led the DA to "the inescapable conclusion" that the prosecuting authority's decision "was indeed arbitrary and irrational and/or it simply has something to hide."

A judgement by the North Gauteng High Court can be expected on Friday or next week, according to the South African press.

The opposition party has earlier explained that it intends using the documents regarding Mr Zuma's corruption case in a bid to have a court decide to review the decision to drop charges. The DA hopes the case could thus be reactivated.