Courts protecting us from politicians

The ANC says it respects the judiciary and its independence, but its president, Jacob Zuma, has shown a tendency to characterise any uncomfortable court decisions as judicial interference in the role of the executive.

And this is exactly the stance he adopted yesterday after the stunning, watershed judgment in which a full bench of the High Court in Pretoria ruled that he may not, for as long as he remains in office, appoint, suspend or remove a national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) because of the serious criminal charges he is facing. His office said the judgment would be taken on appeal.

Put simply, the judges were saying: an accused poacher has no business whatsoever in appointing a gamekeeper. What Zuma was saying was: I am the president. I have executive powers and the constitution allows me to use them.

It would be more than a pity for the country, it would be a tragedy, if Zuma’s view prevails. It would mean he could, for the rest of his term as SA president, continue to wield his executive power for the benefit of himself and his clique … often at the expense of ordinary South Africans. And there is still a lot of time left for damage.

The court judgment was the most stunning rebuke for Zuma since the Constitutional Court found him accountable for some of the costs of his Nkandla homestead and for not obeying the constitution.

It set aside Zuma’s decision to get rid of Mxolisi Nxasana as NDPP head in return for a R17.3 million golden handshake and to appoint Shaun Abrahams as national director of public prosecutions.

The position has now been declared vacant, which means Zuma’s legal bodyguard, Abrahams, no longer has power. Once again, our courts have protected us from our politicians. We fervently hope that this is allowed to continue.

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