National Prosecuting Authority boss Shaun Abrahams remained defiant and insisted he would not quit his job amid heated exchanges with opposition MPs in Parliament on Friday.
Abrahams was put in the hot seat by MPs and grilled for several hours over the NPA’s controversial decision to prosecute Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and former SA Revenue Service employees, Oupa Magashula and Ivan Pillay, and his subsequent announcement that fraud charges had been dropped.
MPs from opposition parties did not hold back as they slammed Abrahams’ conduct, demanding he apologise to Gordhan, Pillay and Magashule and that he resign.
“I want to put it to you that you are unfit to hold office and I want to put it to you that you ought to be debarred as an advocate and you have dishonoured the office and the profession for you to continue to hold office,” Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Sam Matiase charged.
“My advice to you is do the honourable thing, don’t wait to be pushed and resign because you have dishonoured the profession, the office of the national director of public prosecutions, you have disgraced the whole nation by the kind of a decision that you have made so you are not fit to hold office.”
But Abrahams insisted he had done nothing wrong.
“I deny this was a blunder or part of a systematic blunder…No, I am not considering resigning,” he said.
“Our Constitution provides that everyone is equal before the law and I don’t deem it necessary under these circumstances to tender an apology.”
The EFF this week lodged a complaint with the General Council for the Bar asking that Abrahams be struck off the roll of practicing advocates over his handling of the charges against Gordhan.
Abrahams said there was not a shred of evidence he acted improperly or that he was pressured to charge Gordhan.
“There is not an iota of proof of political interference in this matter…the matter of political interference is much publicised in the media and is very much self-created,” he said.
“I can assure this committee, the initial decision to prosecute Minister Gordhan was not a politically motivated decision and further to re-emphasise that the fact that the charges were withdrawn should be testament to my independence as the national director of public prosecutions.”
He dismissed accusations that he had been “captured” to further certain political interests.
“Captured by whom? Can anybody answer that question?” Abrahams asked rhetorically.
“The current political climate in the country and all the fingers being pointed towards the NPA does not bode well for public confidence in the institution, but we will continue to prosecute without fear, favour or prejudice.”
Opposition MPs also probed his visit to Luthuli House, the Johannesburg headquarters of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), a day before announcing Gordhan would be charged, to which Abrahams gave a dramatic account of why he met with President Jacob Zuma and some cabinet ministers.
“It’s a Monday afternoon, I’m an hour away from a dentist appointment, buses are burning, shops are being looted, vehicles and buildings are being vandalised, people are being assaulted, it’s a state of anarchy. I receive a phone call from the minister of justice who requests my assistance at a briefing. It’s an emergency briefing. I attend this briefing,” he said, again insisting his presence at Luthuli House was to discuss the ongoing student unrest in the country.
“I didn’t attend this meeting at Luthuli House to meet with ANC officials. I attended this meeting to meet with ministers in the security cluster.”
He did regret the venue of the meeting, but dismissed suggestions that he was there to meet Zuma about the Gordhan prosecution.
“The president did not invite me to this meeting. The president did not even know I would be in attendance at this meeting,” he said.
“Of course, I wished that it wasn’t that venue…I disagree with you completely that attending this meeting is indicative of a lack of sound judgement…”
While opposition parties claimed Abrahams was not fit to hold office, ANC MPs accepted his explanations, lauding him for his “independence” and “credibility”.
The party’s Chana Pilane-Majake later remarked: “By the way, there’s nothing wrong in visiting the ANC because working for NPA and being in government means you are actually rolling out the mandate of the ANC which is the ruling party.”
On October 11 this year, Abrahams announced that Gordhan, Magashula and Pillay had received summons to appear in court on November 2 on fraud charges related to the approval of the latter’s early retirement with full benefits.
A public outcry ensued, with suggestions from various quarters that Gordhan was being pursued on criminal charges as part of a battle for control of the Treasury.
After significant pressure from opposition parties, civil society organisations, and even from within the ruling ANC, the charges were withdrawn.
Making the announcement on Monday, October 31, Abrahams said that following submissions to him made by legal representatives for Pillay and Magashula, he was withdrawing the charges, citing the lack of intent which was necessary for a successful prosecution.
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