Zuma’s lawyers to put Abrahams in spotlight over arms deal prosecution – report

Former president Jacob Zuma’s lawyers will reportedly focus their legal attack on National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Shaun Abrahams when making arguments for why Zuma should not be prosecuted on 16 charges of corruption related to the arms deal scandal.

This after Zuma’s lawyer, Michael Hulley, said at the weekend that they would challenge Abrahams’ decision to prosecute Zuma within the next two weeks.

According to a report by Times Select, the lawyers will argue that Abrahams did not “properly apply his mind” when he dismissed Zuma’s representations on why he should not be prosecuted over the controversial multimillion-rand arms scandal in the late 1990s.

However, the pending decision by the Constitutional Court on whether Abrahams’ appointment as the national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) is invalid will be important to their case.

In December last year, the Pretoria High Court ruled that Abrahams’ appointment by Zuma in 2015 was invalid, and he must vacate his seat. The court also found that former NPA head Mxolisi Nxasana’s termination of employment and the golden handshake of R17.3 million he received were unconstitutional.

Abrahams’ appealed the ruling at the ConCourt. Should the court find that his appointment was indeed invalid, Zuma’s lawyers will reportedly argue that this raises serious questions about his decision to prosecute the former president.

Last month, the ConCourt reserved its judgment on Abrahams’ future after hearing arguments.

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