“Italy’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday threw out a law that shields Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from prosecution while in office, paving the way for corruption proceedings to resume against him.”
This has thrown Italian politics into the kind of spin that might well be mirrored down here.
Recently Helen Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance, blasted the acting head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Mokotedi Mpshe, for missing a deadline in filing the NPA’s response to the DA’s application to the High Court to review the decision to withdraw the charges against President Jacob Zuma.
Moreover Zille was less than pleased with the affidavit filed by Zuma’s attorney Michael Hulley, in response to the application, in which he stated:
“I have been advised that the incumbent State President, like the President of the United States, cannot be charged with criminal conduct (or continue to be prosecuted) during his incumbency.”
Zille’s response on Politicsweb September 18 2009 was as follows:
“Hulley is completely wrong. The South African Constitution makes this crystal clear. Section 9 (i) of the Bill of Rights proclaims that “everyone is equal before the law”. In Chapter 5, on The President and the National Executive, the President is granted no special favours or immunities for criminal conduct. The President is the same as the rest of us: if he commits a crime, he must be charged and tried.”
In truth there is no doubt that Zille is correct on this point.
So much so that many of you will recall the whole debate — prior to the election — on whether the ANC, if they got a two-thirds majority, would amend the Constitution to include a provision to that effect.
The party, and indeed Zuma, to their credit, confirmed that this would not be the case.
Italy’s Constitutional Court has spoken and the knives are out for Berlusconi.
The High Court here, sooner or later, is going to have to give a ruling on the DA’s application.
If it is upheld all sorts of permutations present themselves once again.
If it is dismissed we will have to see what the DA plan to do.
Of one thing you can be certain; the Berlusconi decision will have refocused the minds of all of those involved in these proceedings.
Abstracts do give way to reality.
Zuma will eventually fall, although possibly because he would have been deposed by another seeking to be the country’s president.
I doubt whether the Chapter 5 clause will be used for honest intentions.
Never mind the Italian, what about Ian Khama in Botswana? He has just had two rulings in his favour, one from a three man panel of judges (including the chief justice) and one from the appeals court. Both found him to be absolutely immune to civil or criminal proceedings of any sort. Admittedly, he didn’t write the constitution, but he is certainly making full use of its provisions which allow him to do as he pleases with total and absolute immunity from prosecution.
We have an election in nine days time in which I am hoping the voters will humiliate the ruling party with a reflective protest. No man is above the law!
Let our precious president stand trial and be proven, I just wanna see him when he goes down the dock into the prison cell, Eish I am just dreaming its South Africa here and anything goes on who knows who and how do they know them.
Maybe then the ANC should have gone for the 2/3rds which they later said they did not want.Then they could chance the constitution.
COPE did its job and other opposition parties and now the matter, no matter how remote the chances, may be heard again in court.
you should read the botswana court of appeal judgement in relation to the same subject.
the court upheld the argument for total immunity agaist prosecution and civil litigation.
the judges of appeal were M Ramodibedi of lesotho,C howie of south africa,J mcnally of zimbabwe,J G Foxcroft of south africa and T Twum of Ghana.
I am not an apologist for either the ANC or Zuma but I do think that the role of government would be seriously undermined if the President was forced to devote his attention to our “Justice delayed and therefore denied” court system.
Since WW2, Italy has had so many changes of government that, on average, the lifespan of any Italian government is 9 months. Berlusconi is one of the longest-ruling Italian postwar leaders of all time. He’s an outstanding multi-billionaire businessman, a media mogul AND an exceptional political dealmaker. So, he has a weakness or two? Big deal.
Traps,
The Berlusconi decision changes nothing here. The SA Constitution does not exempt a sitting president or anyone else from the law. Period.
Likewise, neither Zuma nor the ANC deserve credit for refraining–as of today–from trying to change the Constitution. (To suggest that they deserve credit for that is patronising at the very least).
To seek to change the Constitution for so obviously self-serving a purpose would send a fatal message to the G-8, G-20, IMF, etc. that SA is on course as the next African dictatorship resulting in the bottom falling out of the SA economy. That same ‘imperialist’ economy that makes the ‘lifestyles’ of the rich and infamous in the ANC/YL/WL/Cosatu/SACP possible.
Besides, the ANC has done quite well for itself by simply ignoring (or not bothering to read!) the Constitution, so why change it? Arms scandal? What arms sandal? HIV? What HIV? Corruption? What corruption? Conflict of interest? What conflict of interest?
Predictions for 2010 and beyond:
Presuming that Zuma does not make himself President for Life:
1. SA’s next president will be Julius Malema, aka Emperor Julius the First.
2. Hlophe will be appointed Chief Justice.
3. Chuene will be Minister of Sport.
4. Sandile Mamela will be Minister of Communications.
Oh, and did I mention, the Constitution will be suspended, permanently.
Welcome to the new, new South Africa: A deadly mixture of the insane, the inept and the incorrigible.
One other thing: no whites or foreigners.
Traps
Love that YOUR articles are short and to the point.
thanks
Lunte
Fascinating stuff to read your blog and that of Pierre at Constitutionally Speaking. Pierre’s blog is for legal guys but non legal bloggers also enjoy it. Traps as a journalist your bloggers differ. What an interesting read of posts of both blogs. See “Berlusconi + Zuma = Politicians” at :
http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/berlusconi-zuma-politicians/comment-page-1/#comment-20007
I love it when a debate comes together!!
Berlusconi is an embarrassment to democracy. His power is in part due to indifference of the electorate to blatant corruption as well as control of media outlets. Let it be a lesson to an emerging one person, one vote government. So far, it looks like the ANC will only tolerate free speech as long as it has a massive voter predominance. The question is, what happens when these people realize what they have voted for, and what they could vote for. Beware the control of the media by leadership. Italy’s acute embarrassment could be SA’s totalitarian race based Gestapo state, far in reversal of Apartheid, and “until Jesus comes”.