MEDIA STATEMENT 25 JULY 2013 President to appoint new head of the National Prosecuting Authority The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) welcomes the commitment made by President Zuma that he will appoint a permanent head of the National Prosecuting Authority by the end of August 2013. The President yesterday filed his answering affidavit in the Constitutional Court case brought by CASAC for an order directing the President to appoint a National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) as soon as possible. In his affidavit the President states: “… I wish to state that I have been considering various candidates for the position of NDPP and, all things being equal and unless some unforeseen event occurs, I will appoint a permanent NDPP by the end of August 2013, if not sooner. I give such undertaking to this Court in recognition of the Presidential obligations under the Constitution”. Before launching the application in the Constitutional Court, CASAC had written to the President on 31 May informing him that he had failed to appoint a NDPP diligently and without delay as required by section 237 of the Constitution, and seeking such a commitment to urgently appoint a NDPP. Our letter stated: “Should you not take measures to ensure that this constitutional obligation to appoint a NDPP is executed within a period of 14 days from now we will have to consider exploring other options, including recourse to the courts to ensure that an appropriately qualified NDPP is appointed. This is not a course that we would ordinarily elect to pursue, and we remain available to engage with you on this matter further to resolve this situation.” It is regrettable that the President chose not to reply to this letter. Had he done so and made the commitment that he now has, we would have avoided the litigation that has ensued. We trust that the President will now appoint a fit and proper person as the NDPP before the end of August. The National Prosecuting Authority is a critical component of the criminal justice system in South Africa whose independence needs to be bolstered to restore public confidence in its ability to exercise its functions without fear, favour or prejudice. Enquiries: Lawson Naidoo 073 1585736 [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 11:28:23 +0000
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