DA to argue case for Jiba’s suspension
The Democratic Alliance said on Monday it would argue before the Western Cape High Court that President Jacob Zuma had ulterior motives for failing to suspend Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba.
The official opposition is demanding that the President call a disciplinary inquiry into her fitness to hold office and that she be relieved of her duties pending the outcome.
“The DA will argue that the president’s failure to suspend Adv Jiba was unlawful and tainted by ulterior motives and bias. Accordingly the DA will ask the court to do what the President would not and suspend Adv Jiba,” DA justice spokeswoman Glynnis Breytenbach said on Monday.
Breytenbach said Zuma had ignored compelling grounds for suspending Jiba, notably that she has been criticised by judges in four different courts.
“She stands accused of lying to the court, failing to comply with court orders, ignoring deadlines, failing to exercise an independent mind, and ‘shielding irrational and illegal actions from judicial scrutiny’,”
Breytenbach said.
She added that an independent commission headed by former Constitutional Court Judge Zak Yacoob had found that Jiba had been rightly criticised by the courts and her conduct had raised public concern about the independence of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“Despite all of this, however, President Zuma failed to suspend her, ignoring the requests of the then sitting NDPP, Mxolisi Nxasana, and numerous stakeholders across civil society. Instead Adv Jiba was promoted and those who sought her suspension were purged from the NPA,” said Breytenbach.
“It is telling of course that the three cases in which Adv Jiba acted dishonestly concerned serious charges against the President and senior members of the SAPS (South African Police Service) aligned to the President. The cases were all extremely politically sensitive. They are exactly the types of cases in which an honest, independent NDPP is absolutely vital.”
The cases in question include the matter of KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Johan Booysen whom Jiba decided to prosecute for alleged racketeering, earning her a stinging rebuke from Durban High Court Judge Trevor Gorven, who threw the charges out and agreed with Booysen that Jiba had lied.
Jiba was to go on trial on last year on charges regarding her alleged deceit when handling the Booysen matter, but shortly after his appointment new National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shaun Abrahams, put a stop to the case and promoted Jiba.
The DA’s legal bid to force Jiba’s suspension will resume in the high court on Tuesday. ANA
(File photo: Gallo Images)