Prosecutor wants Zuma case ended

The director of South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority, Shaun Abrahams, holds appeal papers at a press conference at the body's head office in Pretoria on May 23, 2016. PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Opposition says prosecutor is obsessed with delaying the case.

PRETORIA, Monday

South African state prosecutors will appeal against a court ruling that President Jacob Zuma should face almost 800 corruption charges.

Zuma has endured months of criticism and growing calls for him to step down after a series of corruption scandals and as the country battles falling economic growth and record unemployment.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) director Shaun Abrahams announced the decision to challenge a High Court order to reinstate 783 charges against Zuma, but denied any political pressure.

The charges, relating to a multi-billion dollar arms deal, were dropped in 2009, clearing the way for Zuma to be elected president weeks later.

At the time, state prosecutors justified dropping the case by saying that tapped phone calls between officials in then-president Thabo Mbeki’s administration showed political interference.

But the Pretoria High Court last month dismissed the decision to discontinue the charges as irrational and said it should be reviewed by the NPA.

“The judgement affects...the discretionary powers of the prosecutor,” Abrahams told a press conference. “It is so important that I believe it needs a decision of an appeal court.”

Abrahams railed against suggestions that the NPA was reluctant to prosecute Zuma.

“I will always do what is correct, irrespective of whether the individual concerned is an ordinary citizen, a cabinet minister or a sitting president,” he said. “Any suggestion that I may have succumbed to any pressure to make my decision is absolutely ridiculous and unfounded.”

The tapped phone recordings, which became known as the spy tapes, were kept secret until they were released in 2014 after a legal battle fought by the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The DA dismissed the prosecutors’ appeal bid as a blatant delaying tactic to shield Jacob Zuma.

“Abrahams is preoccupied with protecting president Zuma at all costs ... The DA will not let this matter rest. President Zuma will face justice,” it said.

Pressure on the president would increase if some or all of the charges—which relate to corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering—were reinstated.