An immediate police investigation into the deaths was prevented because the cause of death was indicated as ‘natural causes’ on their death certificates.
The dilemma for Zuma and his legal team is this: by putting him on the witness stand, there is a risk that he would be found wanting, especially in terms of the detail of any matter.
An effective, accountable National Prosecutions Authority needs at least two things: structural independence and competent personnel with expertise and integrity.
Even though private prosecutions have been allowed in South African for almost 100 years, they are fairly rare and there has been only one known successful private prosecution.
The use of the prosecuting authority and the police in ANC succession struggles has a long history. What’s different in the Zuma era is the symbiosis between elite police and the prosecution service.
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority charged the country’s finance minister Pravin Gordhan and two of his former colleagues at the tax authority, Ivan Pillay and Oupa Magashule, with fraud last…
Closer examination of criminal charges brought against South Africa’s finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, suggest that they are weak in law and serve a political agenda.