14 November 2006
The SACP notes and wishes to express its serious concerns about the implications of the letter written by Judge Hilary Squires to Business Day, as published on its Weekender edition of 11 November 2006.
The SACP is seriously concerned that the ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on the Shabir Shaik matter on his relationship with the Deputy President of the ANC, Cde Jacob Zuma, is based on an inaccurate reading or lack thereof, of the exact nature of the judgement made by the original trial court.
The usage of the phrase ‘generally corrupt relationship´ in relation to one of its rulings on the matter and attributing this to the judgement of the trial court, amounts to a political rather than a judicial and legally based ruling by the SCA. The trial court judgement indeed never made such a finding.
This is indeed a very serious matter that does not only call into question the credibility of the SCA and the competence of the judges involved, but also has the potential of negatively impacting on the confidence of our people in our judiciary. Even more serious, this means that in its ruling the SCA has been more influenced by perception created and fostered by the media than by a thorough reading of the judgement of the trial court. In this regard the SCA clearly went beyond its scope with regard to the ruling in question. This is indeed a very disturbing development.
Given the gravity of this matter - and the need to ensure that the credibility of our judiciary is protected - the SACP calls upon the Chief Justice to institute a thorough and public investigation into the circumstances leading to such a serious development; and for appropriate action to be taken.
The SACP wishes to reiterate its stance that the rule of law needs to be observed and applied objectively and impartially, irrespective of the status of those who maybe affected or involved. However, at the same time, this development underlines the need to fast-track the transformation of the judiciary. Any application rule of the rule of law in the context of an untransformed judiciary is tantamount to the law of the jungle, and can only set extremely dangerous legal precedents and roll back the many gains of our young democracy. That is why any calls for respect of rule of law and judicial processes without simultaneously emphasising the need to transform the judiciary are empty legalistic rhetoric that can only undermine the building of a society based on the rule of law.
The matter under question is also a damning indictment on the South African media. The public perception that the phrase ‘generally corrupt relationship´ was a finding by the trial court is a deliberate creation of the media. This alone conclusively proves that the media in general, with very few exceptions, have been engaged in a deliberate exercise to try and convict the Deputy President of the ANC in a court of public opinion. The SACP has always insisted that the principle of ‘innocence unless proven otherwise by a credible judicial process´ must be maintained at all times, not least by the media. The media has seriously violated this fundamental principle of our rule of law.
The SACP is therefore of the view that the Press Ombuds and the Human Rights Commission need to proactively undertake a public enquiry as to how the media has over such a long period of time consistently fostered such a blatant lie and literally gotten away with it. This is important if the media is to maintain any semblance of credibility and impartiality. Otherwise the widely held perception that large sections of the media have consciously been part of, if not spearheading, a political onslaught against the public image and standing of Cde Zuma will be reinforced. It is indeed beyond question that Cde Zuma has suffered immense social and political prejudice as a result of these lies by the media. No one in a democratic South Africa deserves such treatment. Such an enquiry into the media is also important as part of setting the ground rules on media coverage of public figures, and to prevent the abuse of the freedom of the media that millions of our people fought so hard for. In fact, the media has in this instance clearly abused freedom of the press and expression.
The SACP remains firmly committed to continue the struggle to build a society governed by the rule of law, but a rule of law based on a thoroughly transformed criminal justice system and media coverage that does not violate constitutionally entrenched rights of any South African citizen.
Issued by: SACP
Malesela Maleka
SACP Spokesperson
Tel: 011 339 3621
Fax: -11 339 4244
Cell: 082 226 1802
Email: malesela@sacp.org.za
OR
Solly Mapaila
SACP National Organiser
Cell: 082 886 3526
Email: solly@sacp.org.za