A ‘real leader’ would step aside, say lobby groups in Shaun Abrahams case

A "real leader" in the position of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shaun Abrahams would stand aside and allow an inquiry to clear his name, counsel for the legal lobby groups seeking Abrahams’s suspension said in court on Thursday.

A full bench of three judges — led by Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo — was constituted to hear the case about whether Abrahams and two other senior prosecutors should be suspended after the NPA charged Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan for fraud, only for Abrahams to withdraw the charges a few weeks later.


Legal lobby groups Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation went to the High Court in Pretoria urgently, asking it to set aside President Jacob Zuma’s "failure" to act on this score: to suspend Abrahams, acting head of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit Torie Pretorius SC and Gauteng director of public prosecutions Sibongile Mzinyathi; and to order that an inquiry be established into whether they are fit and proper for their posts.
The morning was spent arguing over whether the case was really urgent and whether it was "ripe" for hearing, because the president had already asked Abrahams to give reasons why he should not be suspended and his answer is due next week.
Judge Mlambo said: "These are urgent proceedings where you want the judiciary to stray into the executive’s domain; where the executive is saying, I am doing something."

 

Counsel for Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation, David Unterhalter SC, said there was no requirement in law for the president to seek representations from the prosecutors into whether there should be an inquiry, and there was no discretion on whether to hold an inquiry — it had to be done in the face of such incompetence and lack of integrity.
Unterhalter said the president’s process could take over a year, which meant a situation where incompetence and lack of integrity would remain in office.
This period of time was "unconscionable" — and it would mean the NPA would work under a "long shadow of suspicion".

"The NPA is not in safe hands, the aeroplane is not being flown by competent pilots," said Unterhalter.
He said a "real leader" of such a crucial organisation would say, "I welcome the inquiry" and step aside "so that I cause no harm to the institution".
"That’s what you expect of true leaders," he said.
No one was indispensable, there was a plethora of talent to step up, he said.
But counsel for the President, Ishmail Semenya SC, said the root of the complaints against Abrahams and the others was the press conference on October 11 at which charges were announced.
"It’s been 44 days since the press conference of October 11, why hasn’t this plane crashed?"
Semenya said in an urgent case the applicants had to show there would be irreparable harm if the court did not step in and there had to be facts to back this up.
But Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation had not given any facts to show why the court needed to step in now.
It was "not trivial for the head of state to say that he requires some time to think about it", said Semenya.

Yet the legal organisations wanted the court to say to the president, "No, we won’t give you time to exercise your constitutional power, we will tell you today that you must institute that inquiry".
He said this offended against the separation of powers and the rule of law.
The hearing continued on Thursday.

By Franny Rabkin/BDlive