ACDP calls for immediate reinstatement of Pikoli and parliamentary steps to protect independence of NPA

ATTENTION NEWS EDITOR
MEDIA RELEASE BY MR STEVE SWART, MP,
AFRICAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY
17th SEPTEMBER 2008
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PIKOLI – NPA: ACDP calls for immediate reinstatement of Pikoli and parliamentary steps to protect independence of NPA
*Says Ginwala Commission of Inquiry’s importance is if it also shows political interference in NPA.
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ACDP MP and spokesperson on Justice matters, Steve Swart, has called for the immediate reinstatement of Adv. Vusi Pikoli as National Director of Public Prosecutions following Nicholson’s judgment of last week.

“Whilst we appreciate that the judgment of Judge Chris Nicholson may be the subject of an appeal, his finding that there was a pattern of political interference in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is disturbing and must be urgently addressed by parliament.

As the judge pointed out, “The independence of the Judiciary is directly related to, and depends upon, the independence of the legal professions of the NDPP. Undermining this freedom from outside influence would lead to the entire legal process, including the functioning of the Judiciary, being held hostage to those interests that might be threatened by a fearless, committed and independent search for the truth”.

The judge went on to say that “it is a matter of grave concern that this process has taken place in the new South Africa given the ravages it caused under the Apartheid order”.

Judge Nicholson found that there should be no relationship between the National Director and the Minister of Justice – “certainly insofar as his decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute anybody from the Commission of Police downwards” and that “the suspension of the National Director was a most ominous move that struck at the core of a crucial state institution.”

In view of this finding, it is clear that the Ginwala Inquiry is important should it highlight the President and the Minister of Justice’s political interference in the NPA but otherwise, in terms of Pikoli’s fitness to hold office, it has become irrelevant. How can it inquire as to whether there was a breakdown in relations between the National Director and the Minister of Justice resulting in Adv. Pikoli not being fit to hold the position of National Director, if there should not have been such a relationship in the first place.

The ACDP consequently calls for the immediate reinstatement of Adv. Pikoli as the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
As far as protecting the independence of the NPA in general is concerned, the Justice Portfolio Committee will be considering the implications of the Nicholson judgment later today. The ACDP will, at the very least, recommend that we increase our parliamentary oversight function to ensure that there is no political interference from the side of the Executive in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion of the NPA.

We also need to obtain legal certainty as to the nature of the relationship, if any, between the Minister of Justice and the National Director when the Minister exercises her oversight function over the NPA. We will also recommend the National Director in future be appointed in a similar manner as a judge, as recommended by Judge Nicholson in order to prevent what happened to Adv. Pikoli recurring and ensuring the independence of the NPA."
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For more information, contact
Steve Swart MP,
083 285 6290

Released by Libby Norton,
ACDP Media Attaché,
Tel - 07 25 70 6361
lnorton@parliament.gov.za