JOHANNESBURG, October 13 (ANA) – United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader, General Bantu Holomisa, has said that Jacob Zuma must resign as president of South Africa and face criminal charges or else his party, the African National Congress (ANC), must recall him.
This comes after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Friday dismissed with costs the appeal by Zuma and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the spy tapes saga.
Zuma and the NPA had asked for leave to appeal a judgement of the Gauteng North High Court last year, which ruled in favour of the Democratic Alliance (DA), setting aside the 2009 decision by the NPA’s then director of public prosecution, Mokotedi Mpshe, to discontinue the corruption case against Zuma, on the basis of irrationality.
But SCA Justice Eric Leach on Friday upheld the High Court’s decision to withdraw 783 charges of corruption, racketeering and money laundering as well as fraud against Zuma was irrationa. The judge said the ruling to terminate the decision not to prosecute can not be faulted.
Leach said Mphse had violated the NPA’s Act when he withdrew the charges against Zuma, and thus the appeal failed. He also ruled that the NPA and Zuma must pay costs of DA counsels.
Speaking to the SABC soon after the SCA ruling, Holomisa said that Zuma must step down or the voters should punish the ruling party at the 2019 general elections.
“I am not surprised by judgement because Mpshe was pressurised or lobbied to drop the charges. Where it is now embarrassing is when the NPA took a decision with a suspect to appeal. Now they have both lost the case. On what basis will the NPA say they are going to charge or not charge Zuma,” Holomisa said.
“The best approach here is for the ANC, which paraded JZ fully knowing that he was a suspect, to recall President Zuma. He should be resigning under normal democracy. He does not deserve to be at Union Buildings as from tomorrow.
“[The decision] sends a strong message to the voters that never again should we put all our eggs into one basket. One party dominance means corruption, and come 2019 the voters of this country should punish the ANC for having removed a person who was not accused of stealing a cent and replaced [former president Thabo] Mbeki with a person with 783 charges.
“But what we should be looking at, there is no way that this country can trust the NPA, which is compromised by the virtue of of the fact that they joined Zuma to appeal, which means that they are not willing to prosecute.”
Holomisa said that it would be best for Parliament to appoint at least three judges to review the whole Zuma case and advise the NPA.
– African News Agency (ANA
