Constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos described the appointment of Menzi Simelane’s as national director of public prosecutions as the darkest and most scandalous day yet in the short life of President Jacob Zuma’s tenure and showed an “utter disregard for the Constitution and the law”.
De Vos, who holds a chair in constitutional governance at the University of Cape Town, said the National Prosecuting Authority Act laid down that the director had to be a “fit and proper person, with due regard to his or her experience, conscientiousness and integrity”.
“President Zuma acted unlawfully because Simelane clearly does not meet the requirements for the job,” he said.
De Vos wrote two pieces in which he explains why Simelane is a liar and not a fit and proper person. Certainly the findings of the Ginwala inquiry alone should have placed him just behind Clive Derby Lewis on the list of possible candidates for the job he now holds.
The Sunday Times‘ Rob Rose in a compelling exclusive entitled “How arms-deal man escaped with R200m” sets out how Simelane tried to justify dropping the case against the man central to the decade-long arms deal scandal.
“Simelane claimed this week that he had abandoned an attempt to freeze flamboyant playboy Fana Hlongwane’s foreign bank accounts because of a lack of evidence against him.”
On March 5, Willie Hofmeyr’s Asset Forfeiture Unit was granted a “preservation order” by Judge Willem van der Merwe in the High Court in Pretoria, freezing £437 594 in the account of Hlongwane’s Gamari Trust in Lichtenstein’s Bank Pasche — money which had come from BAE’s agent, Arstow.
The case was meant to go back to court on April 6, but was mystifyingly “abandoned” this week, apparently on Simelane’s orders after he met with Hlongwane’s lawyers. On Friday, Simelane said the freezing order could not be continued “as there is no evidence of criminal conduct”.
But not only do senior prosecutors disagree with their boss on this case, his statement is also contradicted by the exhaustive documentation.”
Three possibilities exist :
- . 1 Simelane doesn’t understand the law sufficiently for a job in which legal knowledge is required — which results in disasters like the Ginwala inquiry where he was out of his depth — in which case he should be fired.
- . 2 Simelane understands his job only too well and that means seeing that the interests of an elite few are protected regardless of the interests of the country — in which case he should be fired.
- . 3 Simelane has no real function other than taking orders from above, carrying them out and taking the flack – in which case he should be fired before he becomes punch drunk.
What is clear is that the time for an independent arms deal inquiry has now arrived in earnest.
Instead of closing a door the head of the NPA has shown why this whole sorry mess now needs to be investigated once and for all. We have some of South Africa’s top prosecutors who have expended enormous time and money to nail an enemy of the State only to see someone from within simply drop the ball.
As part of the inquiry a separate probe now needs to be held on Simelane to see whether any man in his position possessed of his knowledge and faced with the evidence before him would have dropped the charges against Fana Hlongwane.
South Africa can no longer afford to keep writing off these sorry episodes which cost the country billions and billions while depriving us of vital resources essentiel for service delivery.
Kleptocracy is the ANC form of governance:
The term means “rule by thieves”. Not an “official” form of government (such as democracy, republic, monarchy, theocracy) the term is a pejorative for governments perceived to have a particularly severe and systemic problem with the selfish misappropriation of public funds by those in power.”
A “fit and proper person, with due regard to his or her experience, conscientiousness and integrity”.
Are you talking about Simelane or Zuma?
This is the problem. If Zuma himself does not fit the criteria that Simelane must be selected for, then why should it apply; – to any public servant for that matter.
Get rid of these clowns at the next elections. As far as I am concerned there is sufficient cause for violent insurrection.
Rioll on the next elections and may we start a change at city level that gains momentum for 2014
your mates boet
As I recall Simelane’s predecessor also took a position contrary to the advice of his prosecutors: Mpshe’s dismissal of the case against Zuma. It seems that all of Zuma’s judicial appointments share the same intellectual defect, the inability to understand that evidence of wrongdoing IS a basis for prosecution.
Denying that there is sufficient evidence to freeze Hlongwane’s assets is absurd. The documentation is international in scope and has been vetted by Simelane’s own staff! But in Zuma’s world, one only has to say there is not enough evidence. One is never expected to defend such preposterous statements.
Hence, Juju can away with inciting the ANCYL to ‘kill for Zuma’ , ‘kill the boere’, and claim boer journalists are ‘out to get him’ (despite the articles by Lubisi and dozens of other black journos). Reality is whatever Zuma’s boys say it is. In Zuma/Malemaland up is down and down is up. Tim Burton would feel right at home here…
Traps: Great piece, but so shocking and depressing.
I am rather surprised that you make no comment on how a public servant [the DPP] can unilaterally ‘set aside’ and order of a High Court Judge. As a lawyer, it would be helpful if you could enlighten us on this point. I think for everybody concerned about the rule of law should start planning a sad funeral to judicial independence in that country. What a sad state of affairs! It’s some three months since the incisive article by Pierre de Vos was published on this issue and one wonders what the legal profession is doing about this unmitigated assault on its integrity.
I enjoy your considered blogs as always.
The ANC government will NEVER sanction any kind of independent arms deal enquiry – there are too many skeltons in the cupboard.
Britain’s Tony Blair quashed investigation of BAE’s bribes in SA, Saudi Arabia and a few other contries that BAE sold their mavellous products that do such good for humanity to.
Blair’s interest was to protect a few thousand British jobs in the Arms industry (and his government from embarrassment).
The only hope of the truth ever getting out is if some patriotic whistle blower gets the documents to the international media.
The contents of two published books (“After the party” and “Eye on the money”) have not resulted in any action by the ANC to come clean.
By the way – the ANC have never refuted the facts contained in those books, nor sued the authors.
Any idea why not?
I agree. Public servants need to be held accountable for their decisions and actions. An independent inquiry should be initiated. A surviving and thriving democracy is one that has built-in checks and balances. How is it that people are getting away with what they are?
Shades of Zimbabwe…
The three options you outline, that he be fired……….who has the power to fire him?
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” – fasten your seatbelts!
But when are we going to see some action on this?
As a concerned citizen, can one report this to a ‘watch-dog’ state institution or a Section 9 institution, or any where??
What would happen if concerned, prominent citizens petitioned the international court at the Hague? Can it be done?
Clearly it would need an across the board show of unity from people in several sectors; colour and creed ignored and probably politicians avoided.
The media explosion would harm government’s image, but as long as SA’s citizens seem to accept what happens, why should others interfere?