From News24
Pretoria – The NPA is expected to announce its decision on Friday regarding the “spy tapes” judgment.
On 29 April the full bench of the High Court in Pretoria found President Jacob Zuma should face the 783 charges of corruption.
After a seven-year battle by the DA, the court ruled that the decision to discontinue the prosecution against Zuma should be reviewed and set aside.
On April 6 2009, then-NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe said transcripts of telephone conversations between then-Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka, showed political interference in the decision to charge Zuma.
The charges were withdrawn in the High Court in Durban on April 7 2009.
Last month the court found that Zuma should indeed face corruption charges after Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba said Mpshe was under pressure and so decided to discontinue the prosecution against Zuma.
“Mr Zuma should face the charges as outlined in the indictment,” he said.
Ledwaba said that when Mpshe announced that he was dropping the charges, he did so without having discussed it with senior NPA members.
He said this was critical, considering that on March 31 2009, they discussed the matter and agreed to continue the prosecution and that failure to source their views under the circumstances was irrational.
If NPA doesn't appeal #Zuma prosecution ruling, it'll have to make fresh decision on whether or not to prosecute him.
— Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) May 12, 2016
Ledwaba said Mpshe, in his own words on April 1 2009, stated that he felt angry and betrayed, which caused him to act impulsively and irrationally.
In September 2008, Pietermaritzburg High Court judge, Chris Nicholson, dismissed criminal charges against Zuma, citing a political conspiracy to influence the case by former president, Thabo Mbeki, and others.
Nicholson’s decision was taken to the SCA, and overturned. Zuma subsequently appealed this at the Constitutional Court, setting in motion a direct approach to the NPA to make written and oral representations on why the case should be dropped. –Â News24
