Nxasana Probe: President Zuma must account to Parliament for narrow terms of reference

9 February 2015

I will write to President Jacob Zuma requesting he outline the rationale for the narrow terms of reference which fail to include key documentation and the evidence of key individuals. 

The terms of reference do not instruct an investigation into individuals that the Democratic Alliance (DA) believes are the true agents of decay at the NPA. These include Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba, and Commercial Crimes Head, Lawrence Mwrebi.

The DA believes that these individuals are the source of the NPA's decay for their refusal to discharge their mandates without fear or favour. I therefore wrote to the President to request that the actions of these individuals be formally included within the enquiry's terms of reference. 

The narrow terms of reference reinforces the idea the President's investigation is politically motivated, and that it is an elaborate method for discharging the NDPP, Mr Nxasana, for political reasons. This is not the first time that such a manoeuvre has been made on the part of the President.

In 2009 Vusi Pikoli was widely believed to have been dismissed as the NDPP because he did not toe the ANC line. The constant interference from our country's Presidents has hamstrung the NPA in its ability to do its work credibly and timeously, and makes it very unlikely that suitable persons will apply for the role in the future. 

As such, I will request President Zuma account for why a full scale investigation into the senior officials at the NPA was left out of the terms of reference. In order to truly understand what has happened at the NPA, the President should, in addition to Nxasana, investigate:

Jiba's conduct as expressed by the Supreme Court of Appeal judgment in her handling of the, so-called, Spy Tapes Saga;

Jiba's conduct in her handling of the Richard Mdluli matter;

Mwrebi's conduct as expressed in the North Gauteng High Court ruling on the Mdluli matter; and

Most recently Jiba and Mwrebi's conduct in the Yacoob Judicial Commission of Inquiry.

We also know that the timing of the President's investigation is questionable. The President would have known of Nxasana's previous offences prior to his appointment as head of the NPA following the manner of his appointment by an order of court, which would have pre-empted a full on security check. This lends further credence to the idea that the President seeks to rid Mr Nxasana in order to protect his ally Richard Mdluli. 

The DA believes that the President's motives for the investigation are political and that the President and his thinly veiled "witch-hunt" at the NPA must be exposed.

Should the President's reasoning fall short, it is incumbent on Parliament to conduct a full and thorough investigation of its own taking into account all relevant documentation and role players if meaningful steps are to be taken in restoring integrity to the NPA.

Statement issued by Glynnis Breytenbach MP, DA Shadow Minister of Justice, February 9 2015

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