COSATU+welcomes+ruling+on+Scorpions+raid



=**COSATU welcomes ruling on Scorpions’ raid**=

The Congress of South African Trade Unions warmly welcomes today’s ruling by Judge Ismail Hussein in the Johannesburg High Court that the Scorpions’ raid on the home of Jacob Zuma's former attorney, Julekha Mahomed, was unlawful and that the search warrants were obtained and executed unlawfully.

We further welcome the judge’s ruling that all documents, files, photographs, computer hard drives and other objects seized from her home and office on August 18 must be returned. We demand that the Scorpions immediately comply with this ruling.

This ruling totally vindicates the decisions of COSATU’s Third Central Committee (CC) that Jacob Zuma cannot possibly have a fair trial. For this reason, the CC demanded that charges against Zuma be withdrawn and that he be reinstated.

The manner in which the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has conducted itself throughout the past five years leaves much to be desired.

They have long undermined the rule of law by leaking information to the media as a deliberate strategy to run a trial through the media and convict Jacob Zuma in the court of public opinion. The then head of the NPA even convened and off-the-record briefing with newspaper editors as part of this strategy.

Most recently, as Judge Hussein found, they have invaded homes and offices and undermined the confidentiality between attorney and client in what appears to have been a move to respond to COSATU CC demands, as well as a fishing expedition to find evidence against Jacob Zuma. This suggests the inadequacy of the evidence they already claim to have. They seem to be acting in the most bizarre fashion – charge now and investigate later.

The chance of a fair trial has now diminished even further. The NPA may even have obtained confidential information that Zuma planned to use in his defence. Even if it returns the documents, as ordered, it may have copied the information. Its compliance with the Court Order will then be a purely academic exercise.

It is this series of possibly illegal acts and the manner in which they have conducted themselves that has led to many stakeholders to believe that the NPA and Scorpions are not genuinely investigating a case of corruption but rather have embarked on a political campaign against Jacob Zuma, bent on destroying his political career.

Faced with these realities, COSATU leaders and members have made political demands in response to what they see as a political campaign to use the judiciary to settle political scores. That in itself cannot undermine our democracy. In contrast, the NPA has consistently abused its powers in a way that threatens our constitution.

COSATU condemns in the strongest terms the actions of the NPA and the Scorpions. These institutions are clearly becoming a threat to the rule of law.

Congress of South African Trade Unions 1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets Braamfontein, 2017
 * Paul Notyhawa (Spokesperson)

P.O.Box 1019, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa

Cell: 082 4911 591; Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24; Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940; E-Mail: paul@cosatu.org.za**