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President Cyril Ramaphosa's efforts to address the leadership crisis and restore the credibility of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) have been severely affected.
Tuesday, Supreme Court of Appeal paved the way for return NPA officials, who were on special leave after being stricken from the role of lawyers for the way they had handled a politically charged case involving the Former Chief of Crime Intelligence, Richard Mdluli.
The court overturned a high court judgment, National Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi, a special director of criminal prosecutions and head of specialized commercial crimes, were struck off the list, and three judges agreed that Jiba and Mrwebi will not be stricken from the role because his actions do not warrant it, while two judges said in a dissenting judgment that the appeal should have been dismissed and that the top
Jiba, who was largely considered politically protected by the former president Jacob Zuma, can now return to his office after the judgment and replace Shaun Abrahams, the boss of the NPA, whose future is at stake.
The NPA was perceived as politically captured over the past decade and has been accused of bias and selective prosecution. NPA senior management also faced a credibility crisis after canceling its decision to sue former finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
In his first State of the Nation address in February, Ramaphosa stated that he would occupy the NPA's "leadership issues" to ensure that he was "stabilized and able to fulfill his mandate without hindrance" [traduction libre]. 19659002] The General Council of the Bar (GCB) filed the application for the removal of Jiba, Mrwebi and Sibongile Mzinyathi because of the way in which they had handled three political cases. The decision to drop the charges against Mdluli was final, and Jiba and Mrwebi were removed from the role.
Jeremiah Shongwe, Acting Vice-President of the Court of Appeals, said in his majority judgment that the way Jiba had acted in the Mdluli case "not enough considered sufficient to conclude that Jiba "It's not a good person to stay at the lawyers' office."
"Perhaps we can deduce a certain incompetence with regard to his duties, which may be a reason to withdraw the DNDPP [deputy national director of public prosecutions] but not enough to remove the role of lawyers. "
NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said that the authority was satisfied with the judgment, calling a claim to the law. . "There is nothing that prevents lawyers Jiba and Mrwebi from coming to the offices, but they will engage with the National Director of Public Prosecutions [Abrahams] before they return."
Freedom Under Law obtained a court order in December 2017 that banned Jiba and Mrwebi from performing all duties related to their NPA jobs and prohibited them from discussing any matter pending the Supreme Court's judgment.
Zola Majavu, Jiba's lawyer, said that Jiba would return to work was a
Vuyani Ngalwana, president of the GCB, could not indicate if he would appeal.
In December, the High Court, following a request from Freedom Under Law, ordered the president to institute disciplinary measures. Investigations against Jiba and Mrwebi on their ability to perform their duties and suspend them pending the outcome of these investigations.
Nicole Fritz of Freedom Under Law stated that the rights group Jiba and Mrwebi were not fit to perform their duties and would pursue legal proceedings to ensure that they did not would not do.
Lawson Naidoo, executive secretary of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, said that even though the judgment had been overturned, the court had again criticized the integrity of those who held high functions in the NPA.
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