1 August 2008
The SACP wishes to state its full support to the President of the ANC, Cde Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma as he appears in court in Pietermaritzburg on 4 and 5 August 2008.
The SACP wishes to reiterate its view that as far as we are concerned this is not a criminal but a political trial whose aim was originally aimed at preventing Cde Zuma from becoming President of the ANC, and now to be stopped at all costs from becoming President of the Republic in 2009.
We again strongly condemn the manner in which Cde Zuma has been treated by the NPA, which unfortunately has allowed itself to be used for internal factional battles in the ANC and our alliance. The Public Protector condemned the manner in which Cde Zuma’s rights have been violated by the NPA. Subsequently, Msimang struck the case of the roll, for lack of credible charges being laid against Cde Zuma.
We are also deeply concerned about the fact that Cde Zuma has been a subject of a ‘dual’ investigation by the NPA, one an official, albeit unending, ‘criminal’ investigation, and through an illegal intelligence gathering process, as shown by the Special Browse Mole report. We are also deeply worried about the failure of government to take decisive action against those responsible for this document, as we were promised sometime last year.
The NPA has colluded with elements in the media to also ensure that Cde Zuma is tried and condemned in the courts of public opinion, through amongst others, holding a secret briefing with senior media editors some few years back. Again government and parliament never took any action to deal with this blatant and arrogant abuse of power by the NPA, despite the very clear recommendations by the Public Protector. We are also disturbed by the fact that there is no credible action that we are aware of that has been undertaken to also deal with some of the recommendations of the Hefer Commission, especially those relating to the leakages to media by the NPA.
In the light of all the above, and other very serious misdemeanours by the NPA, including publicly announcing in the middle of the Polokwane Conference last year that Cde Zuma will be recharged even before he was informed of this, we are convinced that Cde Zuma can never, ever get a fair trial.
With the SACP in KwaZulu-Natal, together with the ANC and COSATU, playing a lead role in co-ordinating the mass demonstrations for next week, we call upon all our people to go to the Pietermaritzburg High Court in their numbers. This must be the biggest demonstration ever to express our disgust at the political abuse of some of the institutions of the criminal justice system, and the selective prosecutorial practices of the NPA.
We are also calling upon all communists to join protests organised in other parts of the country next week, and to help mobilise our people to partake in these demonstrations. These actions are meant to practicalise our Alliance commitment to ‘accompany Cde Zuma both to court and the Union Buildings’.
Issued by the SACP.
For information Contact:
Malesela Maleka
SACP Spokesperson – 082 226 1802