President to study Constitutional Court judgement in Simelane appointment

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

The presidency says it will study today's ruling by the Constitutional Court declaring the appointment of national prosecution's boss Menzi Simelane, invalid.

However, Constitutional Court judge, Zac Yacoob, says just because Simelane's appointment was declared unconstitutional, the decisions taken and acts performed by him and actions by the National Director of Public Prosecutions were not invalid.

Presidential spokesperson, Mac Maharaj.

"The President respects and will abide by the ruling of the Constitutional Court, the highest court of our land, in the meantime the judgement will be studied to determine the way forward" Maharaj said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance, which took the matter to court in the first place says it has been vindicated by the Constitutional Court ruling.

The chairperson of the DA's federal executive council, James Selfe, says more importantly the court ruling is a victory for South Africans and the Constitution.

"What it has done is it has shown that nobody is above the Constitution net even the president of South Africa. If the Constitution lays down certain ways in which appointments have to be made then even the president has to follow those procedures and act in a rational way. It's a very good day for our democracy in South Africa and we are delighted" Selfe said.