THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

JUDGMENT

Case No:  573/08

NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF
PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

Appellant

and

JACOB GEDLEYIHLEKISA ZUMA

Respondent

(THABO MVUYELWA MBEKI and GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA intervening)

Neutral citation: National Director of Public Prosecutions v Zuma
(573/08) [2009] ZASCA 1 (12 Jan 2009)

Coram:
HARMS DP, FARLAM, PONNAN, MAYA AND CACHALIA
JJA
Heard:
28 NOVEMBER 2008
Delivered:  12 JANUARY 2009
Updated:

Summary:    (1) Criminal procedure – setting aside of indictment – s 179 of the
Constitution – consultation by National Director of Public Prosecutions
when reviewing a prosecutorial decision with accused. (2) Civil
procedure – principles of deciding factual issues in motion
proceedings restated. (3) Judiciary – the limits of judicial decision-
making restated.

ORDER

On appeal from: High Court, Pietermaritzburg (Nicholson J sitting as court of first
instance).

A
The appeal is upheld with costs including the costs of three counsel.
B
Paragraphs 1 to 4 of the order of the court below are set aside and replaced
with the following:
‘1  The application is dismissed.
2  The applicant is to pay the respondent’s costs of suit including those
consequent upon the employment of three counsel.
3   On the respondent’s application to strike out, the applicant is ordered
to pay the costs on the attorney and client scale.
4  The applicant’s application to strike out is dismissed with costs on the
attorney and client scale.’
C
The application to intervene is dismissed.

JUDGMENT

HARMS DP (FARLAM, PONNAN, MAYA and CACHALIA JJA concurring):

INTRODUCTION

[1] This is an appeal against a judgment of Nicholson J, in which he set aside a
decision by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (the NDPP) to indict the
respondent, Mr Jacob G Zuma.1 The appeal by the NDPP is with the leave of the
court below. Mr Thabo M Mbeki (until recently the President of the country) and the
Government of the RSA sought leave to intervene in the appeal on the ground that
they have an interest in the appeal since many findings of the court below impinged
on them negatively and they wish to have the record set straight.

[2] The litigation between the NDPP and Mr Zuma has a long and troubled
history and the law reports are replete with judgments dealing with the matter.2 It is
accordingly unnecessary to say much by way of introduction and a brief summary
will suffice.

[3] Mr Zuma was appointed as Deputy President of the RSA on 19 June 1999.
He was, however, dismissed by Mr Mbeki during June 2005. During December
2007, he became the president of the governing political party, the African National
Congress (the ANC), at the expense of Mr Mbeki, the incumbent and only other
candidate for that position. It is common knowledge that subsequent to the judgment
of the court below Mr Mbeki resigned as President of the country and that Mr Zuma
is said to be the ANC’s candidate for that post after the 2009 general election. Mr

1 See Zuma v National Director of Public Prosecutions (8652/08) [2008] ZAKZHC 71 (12 September
2008) to be found at www.saflii.org.za.
2 See especially Thint (Pty) Ltd v National Director of Public Prosecutions; Zuma v National Director
of Public Prosecutions 2008 (2) SACR 421 (CC); [2008] ZACC 13 and Thint Holdings (Southern
Africa) (Pty) Ltd v National Director of Public Prosecutions; Zuma v National Director of Public
Prosecutions 2008 (2) SACR 557 (CC); [2008] ZACC 14.

Zuma regards the indictment as an impediment to his political future and the present
case is an attempt by him to seek, on procedural grounds, closure of the criminal
proceedings.

[4] On 23 August 2003, Mr Bulelani Ngcuka, the then NDPP, announced his
intention to indict a certain Mr Schabir Shaik on two counts of corruption, but stated
that he would not indict Mr Zuma, who was said to have been the recipient of alleged
corrupt payments from Mr Shaik. I shall revert to the detail of the announcement, to
which I shall refer as the Ngcuka decision. Mr Shaik was convicted and sentenced
during June 2005,3 and Mr Zuma, who was implicated in the judgment, was
dismissed by Mr Mbeki from the position of Deputy President as a consequence, not
(as Mr Mbeki said) because he was guilty but (as Mr Mbeki implied) on the theory
that Caesar’s wife should be above reproach.4

[5] A few days later, on 20 June, the newly appointed NDPP, Mr Vusi Pikoli,
announced his decision to indict Mr Zuma. (This decision will be referred to as the
Pikoli decision.) The matter came before Msimang J on 31 July 2006 for trial on two
corruption counts which mirrored the two Shaik corruption counts. The prosecution
applied for a postponement to complete its investigations and finalise the indictment.
Msimang J refused the postponement and called on the prosecution to proceed with
the trial. When the prosecution indicated that it was not ready to do so, he struck the
matter from the roll.

[6] Mr Pikoli had in the interim been suspended by Mr Mbeki on an unrelated
matter, and Mr Mokotedi Joseph Mpshe, the acting NDPP, decided on 27 December
2007 once again to indict Mr Zuma (herein called the Mpshe decision). That decision
was followed by an indictment of 87 pages with 18 main counts of racketeering,
corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and fraud. Much was based on the same
subject matter that was dealt with in the Shaik trial but, according to the NDPP, the

3 S v Shaik 2007 (1) SACR 142 (D) confirmed on appeal: S v Shaik 2007 (1) SA 240;
[2007] 2 All SA 9 (SCA) and S v Shaik 2008 (2) SA 208 (CC).
4 According to Suetonius, Vita Divi Juli 74, Julius Caesar supposedly said when explaining why he
was divorcing his wife on the ground of a suspicion of adultery that ‘Meos tam suspicione quam
crimine iudico carere oportere.’ (They [my wife, mother and sister] should be as much free from
suspicion of a crime as they are from crime itself.)

facts and circumstances differed materially because the evidence against Mr Zuma
had become more compelling and the legal impediments to charging him had been
reduced.

[7] In the application, which is the subject of this appeal, Mr Zuma sought an
order declaring that both the Pikoli and the Mpshe decisions were invalid and,
consequently, they were to be set aside. Nicholson J obliged by setting aside the
latter decision (the former having lapsed). This brought the prosecution to an end –
at least for the time being.

THE SCOPE OF THE CASE

[8] It would be naïve to pretend that we are oblivious to the fact that Nicholson
J’s judgment has had far-reaching political consequences and that there may be an
attempt to employ this judgment to score political points. It is accordingly necessary
to state at the outset what the case is about as opposed to what it is not about. An
applicant is required to set out his case in the founding affidavit. This Mr Zuma did.
He asserted that his case for the setting aside of the two decisions to prosecute him
was premised on two bases, something he confirmed in his replying affidavit.

[9] He relied in the main on s 179(5)(d) of the Constitution,5 which s 22(2)(c) of
the National  Prosecuting Authority Act 32 of 1998 (the NPA Act) repeats. It provides
in summary that the NDPP may ‘review’ a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute,
after consulting the ‘relevant’ Director of Public Prosecutions (the DPP) and after
taking representations from the accused, the complainant and any other relevant
person. His case in this regard was simple: the Pikoli and Mpshe decisions to
prosecute amounted in each instance to a review of the Ngcuka decision not to
prosecute him; they were made without his having been invited to make
representations in fulfilment of a constitutional requirement and they were,
consequently, invalid. It matters not that he was able, if he so desired, to make
representations – his complaint was that he had to be invited to make them.

[10] The second and alternative ground on which he relied was that he had a
legitimate expectation to be invited to make representations before any decision was
taken to change the Ngcuka decision. In this regard he relied principally on s 33 of
the Constitution, which deals with just administrative action. The expectation,

5 Constitution s 179.   Prosecuting authority.—(1)  There is a single national prosecuting authority in
the Republic, structured in terms of an Act of Parliament, and consisting of—

(a)
a National Director of Public Prosecutions, who is the head of the prosecuting
authority, and is appointed by the President, as head of the national executive; and

(b)
Directors of Public Prosecutions and prosecutors as determined by an Act of
Parliament.
(2)  The prosecuting authority has the power to institute criminal proceedings on behalf of the state,
and to carry out any necessary functions incidental to instituting criminal proceedings.
(3)  National legislation must ensure that the Directors of Public Prosecutions—

(a)
are appropriately qualified; and

(b)
are responsible for prosecutions in specific jurisdictions, subject to subsection (5).
(4)  National legislation must ensure that the prosecuting authority exercises its functions without fear,
favour or prejudice.
(5)  The National Director of Public Prosecutions—

(a)
must determine, with the concurrence of the Cabinet member responsible for the
administration of justice, and after consulting the Directors of Public Prosecutions, prosecution policy,
which must be observed in the prosecution process;

(b)
must issue policy directives which must be observed in the prosecution process;

(c)
may intervene in the prosecution process when policy directives are not complied
with; and

(d)
may review a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute, after consulting the relevant
Director of Public Prosecutions and after taking representations within a period specified by the
National Director of Public Prosecutions, from the following:

(i)
The accused person.

(ii)
The complainant.

(iii)
Any other person or party whom the National Director considers to be relevant.
(6)  The Cabinet member responsible for the administration of justice must exercise final
responsibility over the prosecuting authority.
(7)  All other matters concerning the prosecuting authority must be determined by national legislation.

according to the founding affidavit, arose from the content of Mr Ngcuka’s press
release when he announced his decision not to prosecute him and from some other
non-contentious facts that will be detailed in due course.

[11] From this it is apparent that Mr Zuma’s case depended, as far as the first
ground is concerned, on an interpretation of the Constitution.6 In regard to the
second it depended in essence on whether s 33 of the Constitution applied and, if
so, on the meaning of the Ngcuka press statement. (The ultimate argument was
somewhat different but does not affect the general purport of the point now under
discussion.) These are all legal issues based on common cause facts.

[12] Mr Zuma made it abundantly clear that he did not wish to impugn the
decisions themselves, and that his application was not concerned with the reasons
and motives for the decisions: it related only to the procedural requirements for
making them. He implied that he might attack the merits of the decisions in separate
proceedings. In spite of this explicit statement of intent, Mr Zuma introduced a large
number of facts that related to the merits of the decisions. The NDPP contended that
they were irrelevant.

[13] It follows from this that, as the trial judge recognised, ‘political meddling’ was
not an issue that had to be determined (para 229 of his judgment). Nevertheless, a
substantial part of his judgment dealt with this question; and in the course of this
discussion he changed the rules of the game, took his eyes off the ball and red-
carded not only players but also spectators. Lest his judgment be considered
authoritative it will be necessary to deal with these matters.

[14] However, it must be understood that this aspect of the judgment is not about
the guilt or otherwise of Mr Zuma or whether the decision to prosecute him was
justified. It is even less about who should be the president of the ANC; whether the
decision of the ANC to ask Mr Mbeki to resign was warranted; or who should be the
ANC’s candidate for President in 2009. More particularly, this aspect of the judgment
is not about whether there was political meddling in the decision-making process. It

6 In the event s 22(2)(c) of the NPA Act played no role in the argument because it merely restates the
constitutional provision.

is about whether the findings relating to political meddling were appropriate or could
be justified on the papers.

THE JUDICIAL FUNCTION

[15] It is crucial to provide an exposition of the functions of a judicial officer
because, for reasons that are impossible to fathom, the court below failed to adhere
to some basic tenets, in particular that in exercising the judicial function judges are
themselves constrained by the law. The underlying theme of the court’s judgment
was that the judiciary is independent; that judges are no respecters of persons; and
that they stand between the subject and any attempted encroachments on liberties
by the executive (para 161-162).7 This commendable approach was unfortunately
subverted by a failure to confine the judgment to the issues before the court; by
deciding matters that were not germane or relevant; by creating new factual issues;
by making gratuitous findings against persons who were not called upon to defend
themselves; by failing to distinguish between allegation, fact and suspicion; and by
transgressing the proper boundaries between judicial, executive and legislative
functions.

[16] Judges as members of civil society are entitled to hold views about issues of
the day and they may express their views provided they do not compromise their
judicial office. But they are not entitled to inject their personal views into judgments
or express their political preferences. To illustrate the point I intend to refer to some
instances where the court below in my view overstepped the limits of its authority.

[17] The ‘Society for the Protection of our Constitution’ sought to be admitted as
amicus curiae, asking for an order which the court below charitably interpreted as
one for the appointment of a commission of inquiry into the alleged violation of Mr

7 Citing Lord Atkin in Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 206 at 244: ‘In this country, amid the clash of
arms, the laws are not silent. They may be changed, but they speak the same language in war as in
peace. It has always been one of the pillars of freedom, one of the principles of liberty for which on
recent authority we are now fighting, that the judges are no respecters of persons and stand between
the subject and any attempted encroachments on his liberty by the executive, alert to see that any
coercive action is justified in law.’

Zuma’s constitutional rights. The court found, quite rightly, that it was beyond its
competence to make such an order, but it then proceeded to add at length that a
commission of inquiry into the so-called arms deal, which gave rise to some of the
criminal allegations against Mr Zuma, should be appointed ‘to rid our land of this
cancer that is devouring the body politic’ (para 33). Whether or not one agrees with
these sentiments is beside the point. The point is that those personal sentiments
concerning a political decision were, in the context of the judgment, unwarranted.

[18] Then there is its criticism concerning two of Mr Mbeki’s decisions. The first
concerns his dismissal of Mr Zuma as Deputy President in terms of s 91(2) of the
Constitution (para 155-158). The second relates to his decision to stand for re-
election as president of the ANC with the knowledge that he could not serve another
term as President of the country (para 171-173). The propriety and legitimacy of Mr
Mbeki’s decisions were not issues in the case and he was never called upon to
justify them. These matters are also not matters of law – they relate to purely
political questions and, once again, whether or not one agrees with the learned
judge’s sentiments is of no consequence: the findings were gratuitous.8

[19] The independence of the judiciary depends on the judiciary’s respect for the
limits of its powers. Even if, in the words of the learned judge, the judiciary forms a
‘secular priesthood’ (para 161) this does not mean that it is entitled to pontificate or
be judgemental especially about those who have not been called upon to defend
themselves – as said, its function is to adjudicate the issues between the parties to
the litigation and not extraneous issues.

JUDGING FACTS IN MOTION PROCEEDINGS

[20] I have already mentioned that the issues in this case are primarily legal and
based on common cause facts but that is not how the court below approached the
case. Instead it applied a novel approach to motion proceedings which, if left
undisturbed, may serve as a dangerous precedent.

8 His comments on the Selebi/Pikoli matter are dealt with later.

[21] Benevolently interpreted it would appear that the court, in the context of a
striking out application brought by the NDPP, sought to determine whether the
NDPP was influenced by the executive in deciding to prosecute.9

[22] The rule of court in question states that a court may strike out allegations from
an affidavit that are ‘scandalous, vexatious or irrelevant’ provided the objecting party
will be prejudiced if the allegations are not struck out (Uniform Rule r 6(15)). At this
juncture it suffices to deal with the objection to allegations that are said to be
irrelevant. The passages in Mr Zuma’s affidavit to which the NDPP objected dealt in
the main with his allegations concerning a political conspiracy to prosecute him.

[23] The test for irrelevance is whether the allegations do not apply to the matter in
hand or do not contribute one way or another to a decision of that matter.10
Inadmissible evidence is by its very nature irrelevant.11 Mr Zuma said that he
introduced the allegations to show that the decision not to ask for his representations
was deliberate and politically motivated. Whether the failure to provide him with a
hearing was deliberate or politically motivated has nothing to do with his causes of
action. He was, as a matter of law, either entitled to a hearing or he was not. If he
was entitled to one, the reason for the failure to afford him one is completely
immaterial.

[24] The court below did not decide whether the allegations were relevant or not.
Instead it sought to determine whether the allegations were ‘offensive because they
insinuate that there is political meddling’ (para 41). To do that, it looked at the
‘merits’ (para 43), that is, whether there was merit in the allegations (para 238). The
court accordingly analysed the allegations (and some of its own suppositions) to
determine what factual ‘inference’ it could draw (para 191); what ‘the most plausible
inference’ was (para 191, 206); and what ‘seemed’ to have happened (para 196,

9 There is also another possible interpretation of the judgment and that is that the court was of the
view that the possibility of political interference created a duty to apply s 179 of the Constitution (para
218-219) but that is unlikely.

10 Meintjes v Wallachs Ltd 1913 TPD 278 at 285-286 quoted with approval in Beinash v Wixley 1997
(3) SA 721; [1997] 2 All SA 241 (A).
11 Swissborough Diamond Mines (Pty) Ltd v Government of the RSA 1999 (2) SA 279 (T) 336F-G.

209). It found that it ‘was not convinced that [Mr Zuma] was incorrect’ (para 216),
and that political meddling could not be excluded (para 238).

[25] The court erred in its approach to striking out applications. It is correct that
relevance has to be tested with reference to the merits of the case but that does not
mean that relevance depends on the factual merit of the impugned allegations.12
Whether they are true or not is of no moment; their relevance to the merits of the
case is what is of consequence. As mentioned, the court did not consider this
question.

[26] Motion proceedings, unless concerned with interim relief, are all about the
resolution of legal issues based on common cause facts. Unless the circumstances
are special they cannot be used to resolve factual issues because they are not
designed to determine probabilities. It is well established under the Plascon-Evans
rule that where in motion proceedings disputes of fact arise on the affidavits, a final
order can be granted only if the facts averred in the applicant's (Mr Zuma’s)
affidavits, which have been admitted by the respondent (the NDPP), together with
the facts alleged by the latter, justify such order. It may be different if the
respondent’s version consists of bald or uncreditworthy denials, raises fictitious
disputes of fact, is palpably implausible, far-fetched or so clearly untenable that the
court is justified in rejecting them merely on the papers.13 The court below did not
have regard to these propositions and instead decided the case on probabilities
without rejecting the NDPP’s version.14

[27] The court below imposed an onus on the NDPP to prove a negative. This
appears from the finding that it ‘was not convinced that [Mr Zuma] was incorrect’ in
relation to political meddling (para 216). It reasoned that the question whether there
had been political meddling fell within the peculiar knowledge of the NDPP and was
difficult for Mr Zuma to prove; and so, it held, less evidence would suffice to

12 Elher (Pty) Ltd v Silver 1947 (4) SA 173 (W) 177-178.
13 Plascon-Evans Paints Ltd v Van Riebeeck Paints (Pty) Ltd 1984 (3) SA 623 (A) 634-5; Fakie NO v
CCII Systems (Pty) Ltd 2006 (4) SA 326 (SCA) para 55; Thint (Pty) Ltd v National Director of Public
Prosecutions; Zuma v National Director of Public Prosecutions 2008 (2) SACR 421 (CC) para 8-10.
14 Sewmungal NNO v Regent Cinema 1977 (1) SA 814 (N); Trust Bank van Afrika Bpk v Western
Bank Bpk NNO 1978 (4) SA 281 (A).

establish a prima facie case (para 168-169).15 This rule of evidence, namely that if
the facts are peculiarly within the knowledge of a defendant the plaintiff needs less
evidence to establish a prima facie case, applies to trials. In motion proceedings the
question of onus does not arise and the approach set out in the preceding paragraph
governs irrespective of where the legal or evidential onus lies.16 In applying the ‘rule’
the court omitted to determine whether the NDPP had failed to adduce evidence on
the particular issues; it used the ‘rule’ in spite of evidence to the contrary; and it did
so in instances where no answer was called for because the allegations were either
not incorporated into the founding affidavit or were inadmissible. Finally, the court
failed to have regard to another principle, namely that the more serious the
allegation or its consequences, the stronger must be the evidence before a court will
find the allegation established.17

INDEPENDENCE OF THE NPA18

[28] Although it is generally accepted that any prosecution authority ought to be
free from executive or political control, this was and is not necessarily the norm in
Anglo-American countries. It depends on the position of the Attorney-General who,
in many countries, is a political appointee – often at ministerial level. Nevertheless,
an Attorney-General is required by convention to make prosecutorial decisions
without regard to political considerations and may not subject his discretionary
authority to that of government. He is also not responsible to government to justify
the exercise of his discretion because this political office has judicial attributes.19

15 Union Government (Minister of Railways) v Sykes 1913 AD 156 at 173-174; Gericke v Sack 1978
(1) SA 821 (A) 827D-H.
16 Ngqumba v Staatspresident; Damons NO v Staatspresident; Jooste v Staatspresident
1988 (4) SA 224 (A).
17 Gates v Gates 1939 AD 150 at155; R(N) v Mental Health Review Tribunal (Northern Region) [2006]
QB 468 para  62.
18 For useful expositions see JJ Joubert (ed) Criminal Procedure Handbook 8 ed 46 et seq; E Du Toit
et al Commentary on the Criminal Procedure Act (loose leaf ed) ch 1.
19 Ian G Scott ‘The Role of the Attorney General and the Charter of Rights’ 29 Crim L Q (1986-1987)
187; E C S Wade & A W Bradley Constitutional and administrative law 11 ed 402-404; Ex parte
Attorney General, Namibia: In Re the Constitutional Relationship between the Attorney-General and
the Prosecutor-General [1995] 3 LRC 507, 1995 (8) BCLR 1070 (SCNm); Githunguri v Republic of
Kenya [1986] LRC (Const) 618 (HC); Proulx v Quebec (Attorney General)  2001 SCC 66, [2001] 3
SCR 9. For the constitutional crisis about the independence of the Attorney-General in 1924 in the UK
see S A de Smith Constitutional and Administrative Law 4 ed 380-381.

[29] Locally the pre-Union position was exemplified by Ordinance 1 of 1903 (T),
which provided that the right and power of prosecution was ‘absolutely under [the
Attorney-General’s] own management and control’ (s 6). At the time the Attorney-
General was a cabinet minister.20 The South Africa Act of 1909 had a similar
provision (s 139) but the difference was that since Union Attorneys-General were
civil servants.21 The position changed in 1926 when all powers, authorities and
functions relating to the prosecution of crimes and offences were vested in the
Minister.22 However, in terms of a notice published at the time in the Government
Gazette the decision to prosecute or not to prosecute remained with the Attorneys-
General and the Minister exercised an appeal or review function only.23 As from
1935, Attorneys-General had to exercise their authority and perform their functions
under the Criminal Procedure Act subject to the control and directions of the Minister
who could reverse any decision.24 The convention, apparently, remained as set out
in the mentioned government notice.25

[30] The independence of the Attorneys-General’s decision-making concerning
prosecutions was reinstated by the Attorney-General Act 92 of 1992 although the
Minister had to co-ordinate their functions and could request them for information or
a report on any matter, and they had to submit annual reports to him (s 5). The
interim Constitution also recognised that the authority to institute criminal
proceedings vested in the Attorneys-General.26

[31] Section 179 of the Constitution27 creates a single national prosecuting
authority (the NPA) consisting of a National Director, who is head of the prosecuting
authority and a political appointee, and also DPPs and prosecutors. The NPA has
the power to institute criminal proceedings on behalf of the State and to carry out

20 As to political interference in the Transvaal Republic: S v Nellmapius (1886) 2 SAR 121.
21 So, too, the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 31 of 1917 s 7.
22 Act 39 of 1926. References to ‘the Minister’ in this judgment refer either to the Minister of Justice
or, where applicable, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
23 GN 1532/1926. For a discussion: Gardiner & Lansdown SA Criminal Law and Procedure (6 ed
1957) vol 1 190-193.
24 General Law Amendment Act 46 of 1935 s 1. Also the Criminal Procedure Acts 56 of 1955 (s 5)
and 51 of 1977 (s 3(5)).
25 This differs from the historical assumptions made in the judgment (para 78-79): 32 House of
Assembly Debates cols 156-169 (2 February 1971) referred to in (1977) 1 SACC 136 n 6.
26 Act 200 of 1993 s 108(1).
27 See in general Minister of Defence v Potsane; Legal Soldier (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Defence 2002
(1) SA 1 (CC).

any necessary functions incidental thereto. Although national legislation must ensure
that the NPA exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice, the Minister
must exercise final responsibility over the NPA and the NDPP must determine
prosecution policy with the concurrence of the Minister.

[32] Accordingly, the Constitution on the one hand vests the prosecutorial
responsibility in the NPA while, on the other, it provides that the Minister must
exercise final responsibility over it. These provisions may appear to conflict but, as
the Namibian Supreme Court held in relation to comparable provisions in its
Constitution, they are not incompatible.28 It held (I am using terms that conform with
our Constitution) that although the Minister may not instruct the NPA to prosecute or
to decline to prosecute or to terminate a pending prosecution, the Minister is entitled
to be kept informed in respect of all prosecutions initiated or to be initiated which
might arouse public interest or involve important aspects of legal or prosecutorial
authority.

[33] The NPA Act, the constitutionality of which is not under attack, shows that the
court below overstated the position when it held without qualification that ‘there
should be no relationship [between the NPA and] the Minister of Justice – certainly
insofar as his decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute anybody from the
Commissioner of Police downwards’ (para 207). (To the extent that the statement
implies that there could be a relationship from the Commissioner of Police upwards it
was probably unintended.)

[34] The Act requires members of the prosecuting authority to serve ‘impartially’
and exercise, carry out or perform their powers, duties and functions ‘in good faith
and without fear, favour or prejudice’ and subject only to the Constitution and the law
(s 32(1)(a)).29 It further provides that no one may interfere ‘improperly’ with the NPA
in the performance of its duties and functions (s 32(1)(b)). (‘Improperly’ may be
tautologous because interference usually implies some or other impropriety.) It
reaffirms that the Minister must exercise final responsibility over the NPA and

28 Ex parte Attorney General, Namibia: In Re the Constitutional Relationship between the Attorney-
General and the Prosecutor-General [1995] 3 LRC 507, 1995 (8) BCLR 1070 (SCNm).

29 S v Yengeni 2006 (1) SACR 405 (T).

obliges the NDPP, at the request of the Minister, to furnish the latter with information
or a report with regard to any case and to provide the Minister with reasons for any
decision taken (s 33(2)). More directly in point is s 22(2)(c), which is the counterpart
of s 179(5)(d) of the Constitution and deals with the NDPP’s review function, read
with s 22(4)(a)(iii). The latter provision states that, in exercising the review power to
prosecute or not to prosecute, the NDPP may advise the Minister ‘on all matters
relating to the administration of justice’, which is hardly compatible with the notion
that there may be no relationship between them.

[35] The court below began its discussion of the legal issues implying in general
terms that a decision to prosecute is an administrative action to which the audi
principle (with its offspring the doctrine of legitimate expectation) applies (para 47-
53). This has never been the law and, as the Constitutional Court held, it is not the
law under the Constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000
(PAJA).30 Such a decision is not susceptible to review. There are policy reasons for
this31 that need not be discussed because the constitutionality of the provision of
PAJA,32 which excludes a review of a decision to prosecute,33 is not under attack.34

30 Kaunda v President of the RSA (2) 2005 (4) SA 235 (CC) para 83-84 and the cases there cited.
Compare further Meyer v Law Society, Transvaal 1978 (2) SA 209 (T) 214F-215D; Meyer v
Prokureursorde van Transvaal 1979 (1) SA 849 (T); Huisamen v Port Elizabeth Municipality
1998 (1) SA 477; [1997] 2 All SA 458 (E); Park-Ross v Director: Office for Serious Economic
Offences 1998 (1) SA 108; [1998] 1 All SA 70 (C) para 22-25. As to the meaning of ‘administrative
action’ see President of the RSA v SA Rugby Football Union 2000 (1) SA 1 (CC) also reported as
President of the RSA v SARFU 1999 (10) BCLR 1059 (CC) para 143.
31 In re Smalley [1985] AC 622 at 642-643; In re Ashton [1994] 1 AC 9 at 17; Sharma v. Deputy
Director of Public Prosecutions (Trinidad and Tobago) [2006] UKPC 57 (30 November 2006);
Marshall v Director of Public Prosecutions (Jamaica) [2007] UKPC 4 (24 January 2007).
32 Section 1: ‘“administrative action” . . . does not include . . . a decision to institute or continue a
prosecution.’
33 The review of a decision not to prosecute is not excluded by PAJA and although the Constitutional
Court in Kaunda v President of the RSA (2) 2005 (4) SA 235 (CC) para 84 left the question open the
court below held that it could be reviewed (para 58). As to a decision not to prosecute in the UK:
Corner House Research v The Serious Fraud Office [2008] UKHL 60 (30 July 2008).
34 English law now appears to be ‘that absent dishonesty or mala fides or an exceptional
circumstance, the decision of the DPP to consent to the prosecution of the Respondents is not
amenable to judicial review’: R v Director of Public Prosecutions, Ex Parte Kebeline [1999] UKHL 43;
[2000] 2 AC 326 (per Lord Steyn).

[36] This does not mean, and it was never argued otherwise, that a failure to
comply with a constitutional or statutory requirement to hear a party is not justiciable
under the principle of legality irrespective of whether or not PAJA applies.35

[37] The court dealt at length with the non-contentious principle that the NPA must
not be led by political considerations and that ministerial responsibility over the NPA
does not imply a right to interfere with a decision to prosecute (para 88 et seq). This,
however, does need some contextualisation. A prosecution is not wrongful merely
because it is brought for an improper purpose. It will only be wrongful if, in addition,
reasonable and probable grounds for prosecuting are absent,36 something not
alleged by Mr Zuma and which in any event can only be determined once criminal
proceedings have been concluded.37 The motive behind the prosecution is irrelevant
because, as Schreiner JA said in connection with arrests, the best motive does not
cure an otherwise illegal arrest and the worst motive does not render an otherwise
legal arrest illegal.38 The same applies to prosecutions.39

[38] This does not, however, mean that the prosecution may use its powers for
‘ulterior purposes’. To do so would breach the principle of legality. The facts in
Highstead Entertainment (Pty) Ltd t/a ‘The Club’ v Minister of Law and Order40
illustrate and explain the point.  The police had confiscated machines belonging to
Highstead for the purpose of charging it with gambling offences. They were intent on
confiscating further machines. The object was not to use them as exhibits – they had
enough exhibits already – but to put Highstead out of business. In other words, the
confiscation had nothing to do with the intended prosecution and the power to
confiscate was accordingly used for a purpose not authorised by the statute. This is
what ‘ulterior purpose’ in this context means. That is not the case before us. In the

35 Constitution s 2: ‘This Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic; law or conduct inconsistent
with it is invalid, and the obligations imposed by it must be fulfilled.’ President of the RSA v SA Rugby
Football Union 2000 (1) SA 1 (CC) also reported as President of the RSA v SARFU
1999 (10) BCLR 1059 (CC) para 148. See for a recent application in a similar context Naidoo v
National Director of Public Prosecutions 2005 (1) SACR 349 (SCA). It is difficult to comprehend the
reference to ouster clauses at para 58-66 of the judgment below.
36 Beckenstrater v Rottcher & Theunissen 1955 (1) SA 129 (A); Relyant Trading (Pty) Ltd v Shongwe
[2007] 1 All SA 375 (SCA). For Canada: Prouxl v Quebec (Attorney General) 2001 SCC 66, [2001] 3
SCR 9.
37 Thompson v Minister of Police 1971 (1) SA 371 (E) 375A-D.
38 Tsose v Minister of Justice 1951 (3) SA 10 (A) 17.
39 Beckenstrater v Rottcher & Theunissen 1955 (1) SA 129 (A).
40 1994 (1) SA 387 (C). The correctness of this judgment does not arise for decision.

absence of evidence that the prosecution of Mr Zuma was not intended to obtain a
conviction the reliance on this line of authority is misplaced as was the focus on
motive.41

[39] Courts have also interfered with decisions to prosecute in circumstances
where the prosecuting authorities had given an undertaking not to prosecute or had
made a representation to that effect in exchange for a plea or for co-operation.42 The
prosecuting authority has been kept to its bargain. Interesting as the examples may
be, they have no bearing on the facts before us.

THE NGCUKA DECISION

[40] I have already mentioned that during August 2003 Mr Ngcuka, in his capacity
as NDPP, decided to prosecute Mr Shaik but not to prosecute Mr Zuma. He
announced this decision at a press conference in the presence of the then Minister,
Dr Penuel Maduna. In the press release Mr Ngcuka made two statements that are of
consequence to Mr Zuma’s case. The one deals with the legitimate expectation
argument, to which I shall revert under another heading. The second statement was
this:

‘After careful consideration in which we looked at the evidence and the facts
dispassionately, we have concluded that, whilst there is a prima facie case of corruption
against the Deputy President, our prospects of success are not strong enough. That means
that we are not sure if we have a winnable case.’

Mr Zuma expressed his dissatisfaction with this statement because, he said, it
carried the gratuitous and offensive imputation, which he had to endure, that he was
corrupt but had covered his tracks. Apart from this, Mr Zuma, as appears from his
founding affidavit, was quite pleased with the announcement. Indeed, in his replying
affidavit he made it clear that it was common cause that ‘after extensive and

41 Beckenstrater v Rottcher & Theunissen 140B-F.
42 North Western Dense Concrete CC v DPP, Western Cape 2000 (2) SA 78 (C); Van Eeden v DPP,
Cape of Good Hope 2005 (2) SACR 22 (C); R v Croydon Justices, ex parte Dean [1993] 3 All ER 129
(QBD).

thorough investigations’, Mr Ngcuka and his deputy, Mr McCarthy, ‘took a carefully
considered decision’ not to prosecute him.43

[41] It is important to stress that Mr Zuma did not allege that this decision was
politically motivated; he did not say that it was unjustified; and he did not allege that
Dr Maduna had acted improperly by being present at the press conference. In spite
of this, Nicholson J saw it as his duty to determine whether the decision was made
from fear or favour (para 174) and said (para 175):

‘At first blush a decision not to prosecute the Deputy President of the country appears to be
as a favour to the second highest ranking politician in the country. The applicant denies this
and puts quite a different slant on the objective. He says it was all part of a political agenda
that had as its objective the favouring of President Mbeki in his quest for a further term of
office as ANC President.’

[42] The statements in the second and third sentences are puzzling. Mr Zuma was
never called upon to deal with the supposition that the decision not to prosecute was
a favour to him and, accordingly, he never sought to deny it. And although Mr Zuma
perceived a political plot behind the Pikoli and Mpshe decisions, he did not say that
the Ngcuka decision was part of the plot.  The trial judge’s later statement that Mr
Zuma maintained that there was a strategy to prosecute Mr Shaik and, when he was
convicted, to dismiss him as Deputy President, does likewise not appear from the
papers (para 196).

[43] Nicholson J also attacked the merits of the Ngcuka decision, finding that it
was ‘bizarre’ and that it brought justice into disrepute (para 150 and 155). The merits
of the decision were, once again, not before him and were irrelevant and in reaching
this conclusion he in any event took no note of the NDPP’s explanation. It is correct
that if there is prima facie evidence of a crime in the sense of reasonable prospects
of success the NPA should, in the absence of other germane considerations, initiate

43 The finding of the court below that the Ngcuka decision was a review and not an original decision
is, accordingly, not fact based (para 117). Had it been a review it would have been void because Mr
Zuma had not been invited to make representations. The effect would then have been that the
objections to the later ‘review’ on which this case is based would have had no merit because one
cannot review a void decision.

a prosecution. But the term ‘prima facie evidence’ has more than one connotation
and may mean, as Mr Ngcuka conveyed, that there may be evidence of the
commission of a crime which is nonetheless insufficient to satisfy the threshold of a
reasonable prospect of success, especially if regard is had to the burden of proof in
a criminal case.44  Although corruption involves two persons, the fact that the one
may be guilty does not mean that the other is also guilty because the intention of
each party must be decided separately, and evidence that may be admissible
against the one may not be admissible against the other.45 In other words, the fact
that Mr Shaik was found guilty does not mean that Mr Zuma is guilty. Having said all
of this, I must emphasise that I am not holding that the Ngcuka decision was right,
simply because I do not have the material to judge what is in the context of this case
a non-issue. Instead, I am simply holding that the court below had erred in this
regard.

[44] I have already mentioned that Mr Zuma never accused Dr Maduna of having
acted improperly, whether in connection with the Ngcuka decision or otherwise.
Nicholson J, again, thought otherwise and without hearing Dr Maduna concluded
that he had done so in attending the press conference. From this he deduced that
there was a suggestion of political interference and then held that Dr Maduna played
a ‘not insignificant part’ in planning the ‘strategy’ not to prosecute in order to have Mr
Zuma dismissed as Deputy President on the conviction of Mr Shaik, and that this
constituted a serious criminal offence (para 196).46 Dr Maduna’s supposed

44 See the discussion by Zeffertt, Paizes and Skeen The SA Law of Evidence (2003) 121-130. R v
Director of Public Prosecutions, ex parte Manning [2000] 3 WLR 463 at 474 (Lord Bingham of
Cornhill):
'In most cases the decision will turn not on any analysis of the relevant legal principles but on the
exercise of an informed judgment of how a case against a particular defendant, if brought, would be
likely to fare in the context of a criminal trial before (in a serious case as this) a jury. This exercise of
judgment involves an assessment of the strength, by the end of the trial, of the evidence against the
defendant and of the likely defences. It will often be impossible to stigmatise a judgment on such
matters as wrong even if one disagrees with it.’
45 Compare Thint Holdings (Southern Africa) (Pty) Ltd v National Director of Public Prosecutions;
Zuma v National Director of Public Prosecutions 2008 (2) SACR 557 (CC) para 58.
46 He also referred to meetings between Dr Maduna and the NDPP around the prosecution of another
co-accused, Thint (para 192-195), and the fact that Mr Ngcuka thanked Dr Maduna at the press
conference for his political leadership. As to the first, the court was not entitled to base its judgment
on something taken from an answering affidavit unless the argument was foreshadowed in the
founding affidavit, which it was not: Administrator, Transvaal v Theletsane 1991 (2) SA 192 (A). As to

machinations around the Ngcuka decision were then extrapolated to cover Mr Mbeki
and the whole cabinet (para 213). (It is a matter of public record that Dr Maduna left
cabinet after the 2004 general elections.) Once again, the ‘strategy’ involving Dr
Maduna, Mr Mbeki and all the other members of cabinet as well as the causal
connection between the Ngcuka decision and Mr Mbeki and the cabinet as found by
the trial judge were not based on any evidence or allegation. They were instead part
of the judge’s own conspiracy theory and not one advanced by Mr Zuma.47 Further,
the finding, by implication or otherwise, that a non-party may have committed a
criminal act where this was not alleged, where it was not in issue and without
hearing that party is incomprehensible.

THE PIKOLI DECISION

[45] It will be recalled that the Pikoli decision to indict Mr Zuma came to nought
when Msimang J struck the case from the roll. This, according to the Constitutional
Court, terminated the proceedings.48 Having fallen away, the Pikoli decision was of
mere academic interest and nothing was left to set aside. The court below realised
this and, consequently, refrained from setting it aside (para 242).

[46] The court nevertheless proceeded to make findings about the decision that
cannot be justified on the record and, once again, I would fail in my duty if I did not
indicate briefly where the court overstepped the mark. It latched onto a paragraph in
an annexure to the NDPP’s answering affidavit on which Mr Zuma had not relied
(para 197-199). It was an answer by Mr Pikoli to an affidavit made by Mr Zuma in the
proceedings before Msimang J. The NDPP alleges that the trial judge
misunderstood the context of Mr Pikoli’s evidence and counsel for Mr Zuma did not
dispute this. The court also relied on the contents of a newspaper article that
speculated that the decision to prosecute was politically motivated (para 200-205).

the second, the statement appeared in an annexure and Mr Zuma did not seek to rely on it and,
accordingly, the court was not entitled to base its judgment on it because the NDPP was not called
upon to deal with it: Minister of Land Affairs & Agriculture v D & F Wevell Trust
2008 (2) SA 184 (SCA); [2007] ZASCA 153 para 43.
47 The fact that cabinet may in law be responsible for the actions of a minister does not establish
without evidence that cabinet knew what the minister did (para 213-216).
48 Thint Holdings (Southern Africa) (Pty) Ltd v National Director of Public Prosecutions; Zuma v
National Director of Public Prosecutions 2008 (2) SACR 557 (CC) para 40-42.

Mr Zuma had attached the article to his founding affidavit to indicate that he believed
that his case was being reviewed by the NDPP. He did not rely on the contents of
the article which, in any event, were no more than inadmissible speculation by a
journalist.

[47] The trial judge, again, failed to comply with basic rules of procedure.49
Judgment by ambush is not permitted. It is not proper for a court in motion
proceedings to base its judgment on passages in documents which have been
annexed to the papers when the conclusions sought to be drawn from such
passages have not been canvassed in the affidavits. The reason is manifest ─ the
other party may well be prejudiced because evidence may have been available to it
to refute the new case on the facts. A party cannot be expected to trawl through
annexures to the opponent’s affidavit and to speculate on the possible relevance of
facts therein contained.50 The position is no different from the case where a witness
in a trial is not called upon to deal with a fact and the court then draws an adverse
conclusion against that witness.51

[48] This criticism also applies in relation to the findings of the court below about
the unrelated investigation concerning the Commissioner of Police, Mr Jackie Selebi.
Its findings that (a) ‘there is no refutation that the Selebi warrants were cancelled by
Mr Mpshe after political interference and that Pikoli was suspended because he
refused to do so’ (para 205); that (b) ‘Mr Pikoli does not deal with the allegation that
the issuing of the warrants against Selebi was not palatable to the President but the
decision to prosecute the applicant was’ (para 206); and that (c) ‘the suspension of
[Mr Pikoli] was a most ominous move that struck at the core of a crucial State
institution’ (para 207) were all likewise based on unconfirmed newspaper
speculation on which Mr Zuma did not and could not rely. Here again the court,
without having all the facts, commented on matters that were not in issue or
canvassed.

49 Compare Minister of Land Affairs & Agriculture v D & F Wevell Trust 2008 (2) SA 184 (SCA); [2007]
ZASCA 153 para 43.
50 Swissborough Diamond Mines (Pty) Ltd v Government of the RSA 1999 (2) SA 279 (T) 324F-G.

51 President of the RSA v SA Rugby Football Union 2000 (1) SA 1 (CC) also reported as President of
the RSA v SARFU 1999 (10) BCLR 1059 (CC) para 61.

[49] Mr Zuma did not note a cross-appeal in relation to the dismissal of his claim
for setting aside the Pikoli decision and, accordingly, the procedural correctness of
this decision does not call for consideration.52 It is, however, necessary to say
something about the allegation of political meddling with Mr Pikoli’s decision. This is
because, although Mr Zuma made a general allegation of ‘political motives and
stratagems’ in the decision to prosecute him, it is only in the case of the Pikoli
decision that he tried to identify role players who were allegedly involved.

[50] The sequence of events was the conviction of Mr Shaik, a visit to Chile by Mr
Mbeki and Mr Pikoli, Mr Mbeki’s dismissal of Mr Zuma, and Mr Pikoli’s decision to
prosecute him. From this Mr Kemp (for Mr Zuma) sought to infer an implied
instruction by Mr Mbeki to Mr Pikoli to prosecute Mr Zuma. That was the high
watermark of the ‘evidence’ on political meddling.

[51] Once again, without deciding that there was or was not political meddling,
fairness requires that these facts and accusations should be put in their proper
perspective. The judgment of the trial judge in the Shaik matter found, albeit not in
those words, that a generally corrupt relationship (to use Mr Kemp’s words during
argument) existed between Mr Shaik and Mr Zuma. He added, quite appropriately,
that his judgment did not hold that Mr Zuma was guilty. I have already mentioned
what the basis of Mr Mbeki’s reaction was and it is difficult to see how Mr Pikoli
could, in the light of the Shaik judgment, have failed to prosecute Mr Zuma. The
evidence about the trip to Chile is clear and Mr Zuma knew this in advance: Mr Pikoli
did not accompany Mr Mbeki although they were on the same mission. They did not
meet and did not discuss the matter. Whether Mr Zuma believes this or not is
another matter; courts are duty-bound to deal with proven facts.

THE MPSHE DECISION

52 Goodrich v Botha 1954 (2) SA 540 (A); Gentiruco AG v Firestone SA (Pty) Ltd 1972 (1) SA 589 (A)
607; National Union of Metalworkers of SA v Henred Fruehauf Trailers 1995 (4) SA 456 (A) 475;
Municipal Council of Bulawayo v Bulawayo Waterworks Co Ltd 1915 AD 611 at 631; SAR & H v
Sceuble 1976 (3) SA 791 (A).

[52] The legality of the Mpshe decision is the crux of this appeal. Unfortunately,
the court below subjected Mr Mpshe to the same treatment that it had inflicted on
others. It also used the newspaper report referred to above to make a similarly
unfounded finding against Mr Mpshe (para 200-205). Having done this, the court
went on to assume that Mr Mpshe complied with the supposed instructions of Mr
Mbeki to prosecute Mr Zuma fearing that he, like Mr Pikoli, might be suspended or
dismissed should he assert his prosecutorial independence (para 207). All this was
gratuitous and not based on any evidence.53

[53] The court below set aside the Mpshe decision and the indictment that
followed because of his failure to (a) comply with s 179(5) of the Constitution and (b)
accord Mr Zuma a hearing in the light of his legitimate expectation that arose, firstly,
because of the Ngcuka announcement (para 223-224) and, secondly, in view of a
letter written by Mr Zuma’s attorney, Mr Hulley, shortly before the decision was
made and Mr Mpshe’s response to it (para 132-133, 230).54

[54] It is necessary to stress that the NDPP never refused to afford Mr Zuma a
hearing. Mr Zuma knew from June 2005 that he was the subject of an investigation.
He was soon thereafter served with ‘interim’ indictments. He had been told in the
Ngcuka press release that he could make representations under s 22(4)(c) of the
NPA Act and that the NDPP was duty-bound to consider them. He did nothing of the
sort. Instead, he resisted all attempts by the NPA to further their investigation. This
case is accordingly not about the opportunity to be heard – it is about Mr Zuma’s
alleged right to be invited to make representations and, concomitantly, a right to a
statement setting out the criteria that were applied in not prosecuting him and how
these had changed. In other words, he requires with the invitation an analysis of the
case against him as considered by Mr Ngcuka against the facts in possession of Mr
Mpshe.

SECTION 179(5)(d) of the CONSTITUTION

53 The court chose to comment on the timing of the Mpshe decision while Mr Zuma expressly
refrained from doing so (para 210).
54 It is not necessary to comment on the finding, again based on newspaper reports, that because Mr
Mpshe consulted his investigation team this meant that he should have consulted with Mr Zuma (para
120) because Mr Kemp did not rely on it.

[55] The full text of s 179 appears earlier in a footnote but it is convenient at this
juncture to quote the relevant part of sub-sec (5):

‘The National Director of Public Prosecutions—

. . .

(d)
may review a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute, after consulting the relevant
Director of Public Prosecutions and after taking representations within a period specified by the
National Director of Public Prosecutions, from the following:

(i)
The accused person.

(ii)
The complainant.

(iii)
Any other person or party whom the National Director considers to be relevant.’

[56] The main issue between the parties is whether the requirement of ‘taking
representations’ from Mr Zuma applies to the facts of this case. The NDPP argues
that the provision applies only to reviews of decisions of DPPs and their prosecutors
while Mr Zuma contends that it also applies when the NDPP reconsiders one of his
own decisions.

[57] Before dealing with the wording of the provision it must be placed in context.
Section 179 is to be found in chapter 8 of the Constitution, which deals with ‘Courts
and Administration of Justice’. This chapter does not purport to deal with rights of
accused persons – they are contained in chapter 2, the Bill of Rights, more
particularly s 35. I accept that the chapter must be so interpreted that it promotes the
spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights and fits seamlessly into the
Constitution as a whole.

[58] As mentioned before, s 179 created a new prosecutorial structure where,
instead of having a number of Attorneys-General, each with their respective areas of
jurisdiction, one now has an NDPP who is a presidential (political) appointee at the
apex of a single NPA and below him DPPs and prosecutors who are not.

[59] Against this background sub-sec (3)(b) states that DPPs are to be
‘responsible’ for prosecutions in their specific jurisdictions, subject to the contentious
sub-sec (5). ‘Responsible’, as Mr Kemp argued, means in this context ‘answerable,

accountable; liable to account’.55 By virtue of the cross-reference to sub-sec (5), this
implies that DPPs are answerable to the NDPP. Paragraphs (a)-(c) proceed to deal
with three functions of the NDPP in his capacity as head of the NPA and his control
over DPPs and the prosecutors for whom they are in turn responsible. They are to
determine prosecution policy; to issue policy directives; and to intervene in the
prosecution process when policy directives are not complied with.56

[60] Sub-section (5)(d) deals with the procedure that the NDPP must follow in
reviewing a prosecutorial decision. This requires prior consultation with ‘the relevant’
DPP and prior representations from the accused, the complainant and any other
relevant person.

[61] The dictionary meaning of ‘review’ includes the review of an own decision but
as the court below correctly pointed out ‘the concept of a review or reconsideration
assumes a role somewhat elevated to and distant from the person whose decision is
being reviewed’ (para 106).57 It is also in the ordinary course of events done on the
existing record and the facts that were before the person whose decision is being
reviewed. Support for this can be found in legislation such as s 302 of the Criminal
Procedure Act 51 of 1977, s 24 of the Supreme Court Act 59 of 1959, the various
statutes dealing with courts of the same status as the high courts, PAJA and the
Uniform Rules of Court r 53. It is accordingly wrong to argue, as did Mr Kemp, that
regard must simply be had to the dictionary meaning of ‘review’. Dictionary
meanings are only a guide to meaning because the meaning of words depends on
context.58

55 Mweuhanga v Administrator-General of South West Africa 1990 (2) SA 776 (A) 783E-I.
56 ‘The National Director of Public Prosecutions—

(a)
must determine, with the concurrence of the Cabinet member responsible for the
administration of justice, and after consulting the Directors of Public Prosecutions, prosecution policy,
which must be observed in the prosecution process;

(b)
must issue policy directives which must be observed in the prosecution process;

(c)
may intervene in the prosecution process when policy directives are not complied
with; and

(d)
. . ..’
57 Elsewhere the court below had a different view (para 68).
58 Seven Eleven Corporation of SA (Pty) Ltd v Cancun Trading No 150 CC 2005 (5) SA 186;
[2005] 2 All SA 256 (SCA) para 24.

[62] In the context of sub-sec (5), the power to review can only be an ‘apex’
function, in other words, a function of the head of the NPA qua head. Paragraph (d)
accordingly deals only with the review of a decision by the ‘relevant’ DPP – it does
not include a reconsideration of the NDPP’s own decisions. Once this is accepted,
the reference to the ‘relevant’ DPP does not, as submitted by Mr Kemp, refer to the
DPP who is affected because the case may fall within his jurisdiction.

[63] Mr Kemp also submitted that para (d) is an empowering provision, meaning
that the NDPP’s power to review decisions derives solely from its terms. The
corollary of his argument is that the consultation and representation requirement
applies to decisions of the NDPP or else the NDPP would not be entitled to revisit
his own prosecutorial decisions. In the light of the finding in the preceding paragraph
that  the provision is an ‘apex’ provision that deals with the control of the NDPP over
the DPPs, the premise of the argument falls away.

[64] There is a more compelling reason why the submission cannot be sustained.
Section 179(2) is the empowering provision. It empowers the NPA to institute
criminal proceedings, and to carry out ‘any necessary functions incidental to
instituting criminal proceedings’. The power to make prosecutorial decisions and to
review them flows from this.59 If it were necessary specially to empower any member
of the NPA to make such decisions and to revisit them, one would have expected
the Constitution to have said so. It would be incongruous to require a special
provision to empower the head of the NPA to review matters but to assume that
other members of the NPA of a lower rank have the power of review by implication.
One would have expected that at the lower level there is greater need for these
requirements but, significantly, the drafters of the Constitution, conscious of the
existing practice, and for good reason, did not think it necessary to include such
safeguards.60

59 It will be recalled that prosecutorial decisions and their internal reconsideration were, except in the
limited sense set out earlier, not subject to procedural limitations or judicial overview. Mr Kemp
accepts that the review of prosecutorial decisions by prosecutors and DPPs is not subject to any
consultation or representation requirement.
60 Called a ‘glaring absurdity’ by the court below (para 75) but the absurdity is not addressed by its
interpretation.

[65] Mr Kemp further argued that the purpose of the provision was to protect the
legitimate reliance an accused and a complainant may place on a duly considered
and announced prosecutorial decision, and that it limits arbitrary changes of
prosecutorial decisions at the NDPP level. This means that any decision reviewed by
the NDPP is subject to the consultation and representation requirements of the sub-
section. The reason, he said, is to be found in the fact that the NDPP is a political
appointee and, consequently, the object of the consultation and representation
requirement is to control the NDPP’s political mindset in decision-making.61

[66] There are several counters to this argument. First, although the NDPP is a
presidential appointee it is fair to assume that the drafters of the Constitution took it
for granted that the NDPP would, as would Attorneys-General in common-law
countries who are also political appointees, act independently and not take political
considerations into account in making prosecutorial decisions. I have dealt earlier
with this aspect. Second, if the object was to prevent the NDPP from taking
decisions without the input of DPPs in order to prevent him from taking politically
motivated decisions, the provision would not have limited the consultation and
representation requirement to cases of review, but would have extended it to all his
prosecutorial decisions. In order to give the submitted rationale sense, counsel had
to introduce a limitation into the text of the Constitution, namely that the decision
under review must have been announced. There is nothing to justify such a
limitation.

[67] Mr Kemp also relied on the equal protection clause in the Constitution. The
argument amounts to this: all accused persons should be treated equally; and the
right to be invited to make representations in the case of a review of a prosecutorial
decision should accordingly be so interpreted as to accrue to all reviews and not
only those of the NDPP’s subordinates. The presumption of equal treatment in
statutory interpretation has always been with us and now has a special status by
virtue of the Bill of Rights.62 The question is whether it is ousted by other
considerations in the circumstances of this section of the Constitution. I am of the
view that it is. The underlying purpose of the provision is not to protect the accused

61 This consideration found favour with the court below (para 77-118).
62 LM du Plessis in 25(1) Joubert (ed) Lawsa (first re-issue) para 322.

or the complainant: it is to define the procedure for the exercise of the power of
control of the NDPP. It would be strange to find such an important right, which is not
known in comparable jurisdictions or in our common law, in a chapter of the
Constitution that deals basically with structures concerned with the administration of
justice and not rights. The Bill of Rights deals in great detail with the rights of
accused persons, and is silent about the right to be invited to make representations
concerning prosecutorial decisions. The main problem though is that s 179 on any
interpretation ‘discriminates’ in the sense that the right to be invited does not extend
to most prosecutorial reviews like those by a DPP or a prosecutor. These
considerations trump in my view the presumption and Mr Kemp’s reliance on the
equal protection clause of the Bill of Rights is, accordingly, misplaced.

[68] Both parties pointed to anomalies flowing from the other’s interpretation. Mr
Trengove (for the NDPP) pointed to these: Why protect an accused when an earlier
prosecution decision is reversed but not when the first prosecution decision is
taken? Why protect him when the NDPP reverses an earlier prosecution decision
but not when the DPP or the prosecutor does so? Who is the relevant DPP with
whom the NDPP must consult when the earlier decision was his own? Why must the
NDPP consult with the accused if he wishes to withdraw and with the complainant if
he wishes to prosecute? Mr Kemp had a shorter list of anomalies. The first can be
disposed of immediately. He suggested that to avoid a review by the NDPP, a DPP
may dishonestly have a prosecutor make the decision to prosecute.63 This is not so:
the ‘relevant’ DPP is the one who is ‘responsible’ for the prosecution under ss (3)(b).
The second concerns the case where the NDPP reviews a decision of a DPP after
hearing representations but then at the request of one of the affected parties decides
to reconsider his decision without hearing anyone. This reductio ad absurdum is but
another formulation of one of Mr Trengove’s anomalies and, as he said, anomalies
will remain irrespective of which interpretation is adopted.

[69] The last aspect that needs mentioning in relation to the interpretation of para
(d) concerns the use by the court below of the ‘reading in reading out’ method of
interpretation (para 123-126). This method is a constitutional remedy which is used

63 Relied on by the court below (para 74) while disregarding the difference between the right to make
representations and the right to be invited to make them.

to prevent a finding that legislation is unconstitutional.64 This case is concerned with
the interpretation of the Constitution itself and not with its constitutionality and the
use of the ‘reading in reading out’ mechanism by the court was inappropriate.

[70] I therefore conclude that s 179(5)(d) does not apply to a reconsideration by
the NDPP of his own earlier decisions but is limited to a review of a decision made
by a DPP or some other prosecutor for whom a DPP is responsible.

[71] Mr Kemp sought to argue on the facts that the Ngcuka decision was not one
by the NDPP but was taken jointly by the NDPP and the head of the Directorate of
Special Operations (the DSO) who, he submitted, was a DPP and, accordingly, that
the Ngcuka decision was one by a DPP. The head of the DSO is a post-Constitution
creation and is not a DPP but a deputy NDPP in terms of the NPA Act (s 7(3)).
Further, the fact that he joined in the decision-making does not mean that the
decision is no longer that of the NDPP. If the argument were correct, it would mean
that the Mpshe decision was also not one made by the NDPP and would fall beyond
the provision and destroy the basis of Mr Kemp’s whole argument because it, too,
was made jointly with the head of the DSO.65

[72] A further aspect of the Ngcuka decision that requires consideration is its
scope. The decision was made in a particular context. The context was the two
counts of corruption levelled against Mr Shaik, Mr Zuma being the recipient of the
alleged bribes. It was not a decision not to prosecute Mr Zuma for any crimes
whenever committed. Mr Ngcuka made it clear that if circumstances were to change
in the sense that more or better evidence became available the decision not to
prosecute would be revisited and reconsidered. This means that the Ngcuka
decision was not intended to be final; it depended on the then available evidence;
and it was limited to the mirror images of the Shaik corruption counts.

[73] The Mpshe decision, on the evidence of the NDPP, was not a review of the
Ngcuka decision. The Ngcuka decision had been overtaken by events. There was

64 National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs 2000 (2) SA 1 (CC) para
73-76.
65 The findings of the court below at para 117 are not based on evidence or the provisions of the NPA
Act.

the impact of the evidence and judgment in the Shaik trial; there was the availability
of additional evidence which, apart from strengthening the prima facie case, placed
a different complexion on the corruption counts and in the mind of the NDPP justified
the addition of counts of money laundering and racketeering; there are now four
main corruption counts; and there is evidence about further crimes, such as tax
evasion and fraud on Parliament.66

[74] There is another consideration flowing from the differences between the
counts underlying the Ngcuka decision and the indictment that was ultimately before
Nicholson J. Even on his interpretation of s 179(5)(d) he was obliged to excise the
good from the bad. However, he held that the ‘offer [by Mr Ngcuka] to hear [Mr
Zuma’s] representations probably covered any charges against him should the
[NDPP] decide to charge him’ (para 244). As a finding of fact it is wrong because Mr
Ngcuka’s alleged offer was not open-ended and it also overlooks the fact that a
review by the NDPP of a decision not to prosecute under s 179(5)(d) has nothing to
do with any prior ‘offer’ to hear representations.

[75] In addition, as held by the Constitutional Court, as soon as the matter had
been struck from the roll by Msimang J, the criminal proceedings were terminated
and the proceedings were no longer pending. Removal of a matter from the roll
aborts the trial proceedings.67 The effect of this is that what went before the Mpshe
decision was spent and a new decision to prosecute was required. The Mpshe
decision was not simply a review of the Ngcuka decision, which was no longer
extant. On these facts, s 179(5)(d) had, irrespective of whichever interpretation is
correct, no application, and Mr Zuma’s reliance on it was misplaced.

LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION

66 Mr Zuma’s submission that because he had settled his tax matters after the indictment was served
meant that the prosecution was not justified is not understood and was not presented in argument.

67 Thint Holdings (Southern Africa) (Pty) Ltd v National Director of Public Prosecutions; Zuma v
National Director of Public Prosecutions 2008 (2) SACR 557 (CC) para 41-42.

[76] I now turn to consider the argument based on legitimate expectation, which is
an alternative cause of action. I found it difficult to come to grips with Mr Kemp’s
argument on both the expectation and its legitimacy.

[77] The argument underwent a metamorphosis and ultimately it was that Mr
Zuma ought to have been given an opportunity (more accurately, to have been
invited) to make representations, not about the reversal of the Ngcuka decision but
about the ‘effective decision not to afford [him the opportunity] to make
representations which could or would relate also to issues which have nothing to do
with the merits of the criminal trial’. This sleight of hand was apparently due to a tacit
recognition that decisions to prosecute are not covered by ‘specialised legislative
regulation of administrative action’,68 and that they are not reviewable on the ground
of legitimate expectation by virtue of PAJA. The problem with this argument is that
there is nothing on the papers to suggest that the NDPP decided not to afford Mr
Zuma the opportunity to make representations. To dissect any administrative
decision into discrete sub-decisions as counsel would have it is contrived since, as
Mr Trengove said, any procedural unfairness would then imply a prior decision,
whether express or tacit, not to follow the correct procedure.

[78] It is to be noted that Mr Kemp scuppered the case as presented to and found
by Nicholson J. He no longer sought to rely on the Ngcuka announcement or on the
Hulley/Mpshe correspondence as having created any expectation because, as he
said, he could not point to any representation in them. To indicate how valueless the
Ngcuka announcement was for purposes of extricating from it a promise to invite
representations, it is worth quoting:

‘We have never asked for nor sought mediation. We do not need mediation and we do not
mediate in matters of this nature. However, we have no objection to people making
representations to us, be it in respect of prosecutions or investigations. In terms of section
22(4)(c) of the [NPA] Act, we are duty bound to consider representations.’

As said, Mr Zuma never purported to make representations under the NPA Act.

68 Sidumo v Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd 2008 (2) SA 24 (CC); [2007] ZACC 22 para 91-94, 103-
104.

[79] Mr Kemp sought to rely on an accumulation of facts namely that (a) the
Ngcuka decision was preceded by a careful investigation; (b) during that
investigation Mr Zuma, instead of being subjected to a warning statement, was
asked to answer written questions, some of which he did; (c) the NDPP knew that Mr
Zuma suspected political meddling and strenuously denied that there was any real
new evidence; (d) Mr Zuma asserted that s 179(5)(d) applied and Mr Hulley by
implication had requested the NDPP to comply with s 179(5)(d) and the NDPP
refused;  and (e) the NPA is bound by its policy directives. If I have omitted any it is
because the written and oral argument on this aspect of the case was rather
opaque.

[80] An expectation can be legitimate only if it is based on a practice of or a clear
and unambiguous representation by the administrator.69 Instead of relying on any
representation, Mr Zuma relies on self-created expectations based on his own
perceptions of the law and the facts, which have always been in dispute. As to
practice, the best Mr Kemp could do was to quote at length from the NPA’s
prosecution policy without pointing to any provision that established any practice or
contained a representation on which Mr Zuma relied.

THE STRIKING OUT

[81] I have already referred to the impugned allegations in the founding affidavit
which were completely irrelevant. It is not necessary to analyse the allegations
objected to by the NDPP because it makes no sense to strike them out at this late
stage of the proceedings. The damage has been done. This does not mean that the
order of the court below should stand. Most of the allegations were not only
irrelevant but they were gratuitous and based on suspicion and not on fact. The
excuse for including them was unconvincing especially in the light of the disavowal
of any intention to rely on them. The prejudice to the NDPP was manifest. Instead of
having a short and simple case, the matter not only ballooned but burst in the faces
of many. There may well be reason to hold that many of the allegations were

69 SA Veterinary Council v Szymanski 2003 (4) SA 42 (SCA) para 19; Minister of Defence v Dunn
2007 (6) SA 52; [2007] ZASCA 75; [2008] 2 All SA 14 [SCA] para 31-32.

vexatious and scandalous but, once again, it is not necessary to do so for present
purposes.

[82] An order on the scale of attorney and client is fully justified, especially since it
is not the first occasion on which Mr Zuma has insisted on including such irrelevant
allegations.70 One cannot escape the impression that the founding affidavit was cut
and pasted from other court papers and that in response the NDPP followed suit. Mr
Kemp submitted that we could not interfere because the court below had exercised
its discretion. However, the court did not exercise any discretion and to the extent
that it purported to do so it relied on incorrect principles and had the facts wrong.

[83] Mr Zuma’s unusual application to strike out the affidavit in support of the
NDPP’s application to strike out was, in the light of this, ill-conceived and should not
have succeeded in the court below.

THE INTERVENTION APPLICATION

[84] It ought to be apparent by now that Mr Mbeki and other members of
Government had ample reason to be upset by the reasons in the judgment which
cast aspersions on them without regard to their basic rights to be treated fairly. It is
not necessary to revisit those issues since they have been dealt with in sufficient
detail. However, they make the applicants’ desire to intervene at the appeal stage
understandable.71

[85] Nevertheless, to be able to intervene in proceedings a party must have a
direct and substantial interest in the outcome of the litigation, whether in the court of
first instance or on appeal.72 The basic problem with the application is that the
applicants have no interest in the order but only in the reasoning. They are in the
position of a witness whose evidence has been rejected or on whose demeanour an
unfavourable finding has been expressed. Such a person has no ready remedy,
especially not by means of intervention. To be able to intervene in an appeal, which

70 See the unreported judgment of Van der Merwe J in a case between the parties dated 14
September 2007 (TPD).
71 See Standard Bank of SA Ltd v Harris [2002] 4 All SA 164; 2003 (2) SA 23 (SCA).
72 United Watch & Diamond Co (Pty) Ltd v Disa Hotels Ltd 1972 (4) SA 409 (C) 415-417.

is by its nature directed at a wrong order and not at incorrect reasoning, an applicant
must have an interest in the order under appeal.73 The applicants do not have such
an interest.

[86] They also sought leave to join as amici curiae. In the light of the NDPP’s
argument their intervention in this regard was not required since it did not add
anything new.

[87] In the result the application stands to be dismissed. The question of its costs
remains. Mr Zuma filed a lengthy answering affidavit which was unnecessary and
inappropriate. Since Mr Kemp fairly conceded that the court below had no grounds
for making (most, if not all) the impugned findings, Mr Zuma’s opposition is not
understood. He had no legal interest in upholding the denigration of the applicants
and in opposing the intervention because it did not affect the order he sought to
uphold. The submission that we should not reconsider these findings because they
are not appealable is cynical. He should therefore bear his own costs in this regard.

THE ORDER

[88] In the light of the foregoing the following order is made:
A
The appeal is upheld with costs including the costs of three counsel.
B
Paragraphs 1 to 4 of the order of the court below are set aside and
replaced with the following:
‘1
The application is dismissed.
The applicant is to pay the respondent’s costs of suit including
those consequent upon the employment of three counsel.
On the respondent’s application to strike out, the applicant is
ordered to pay the costs on the attorney and client scale.
The applicant’s application to strike out is dismissed with costs
on the attorney and client scale.’
C
The application to intervene is dismissed.

73 Western Johannesburg Rent Board v Ursula Mansions (Pty) Ltd 1948 (3) SA 353 (A);
Administrator, Cape v Ntshwaqela 1990 (1) SA 705 (A) 715D-F.

_______________
L T C HARMS
DEPUTY PRESIDENT

For Appellant:
W Trengove SC

B Downer SC

G Baloyi

A Breitenbach

A Steynberg

Instructed by:
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions

Durban

The State Attorney

Bloemfontein

For Respondent:
K J Kemp SC

M D C Smithers

A A Gabriel

Instructed by:
Hulley & Associates

Durban

Honey Attorneys Inc

Bloemfontein

Advocates for Interveners:

M T K Moerane SC

P Coppin SC

L Gcabashe

THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

MEDIA SUMMARY – JUDGMENT DELIVERED IN THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL

From:  The Registrar, Supreme Court of Appeal
Date:  12 January 2009
Status:  Immediate

Please note that the media summary is intended for the benefit of the media and does not
form part of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal

The SCA today delivered judgment in the case of National Director of Public Prosecutions v
Zuma (573/08) [2009] ZASCA 1 (12 Jan 2008). It upheld an appeal by the NDPP against a
judgment by Nicholson J in which he had set aside the indictment of Mr Zuma on 18 main
counts of racketeering, corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and fraud. The effect of
the judgment on appeal is that the prosecution may proceed.

The case concerned in the main the interpretation of section 179 of the Constitution. The
SCA held that the section did not require that the NDPP had to invite Mr Zuma to make
representations as to why he should not be prosecuted before indicting him and to provide
him with a full explanation why a former decision not to prosecute was not adhered to.

The SCA also held that Mr Zuma had no legitimate expectation that he would have received
such an invitation and explanation. It noted that Mr Zuma, knowing that he could make
representations, chose not to make any.

Aware of the possible political implications of the judgment, the SCA emphasised that the
judgment is not about the guilt of Mr Zuma; it is not about the question whether the decision
to prosecute was justified; it is not about who should be the president of the ANC; it is not
about whether the decision of the ANC to ask Mr Mbeki to resign was warranted; and it is
not about who should be the ANC’s candidate for the presidency in 2009. More particularly,
it is not about whether there was political meddling in the decision-making process.

The judgment, however, deals with the question whether the findings by Nicholson J relating
to political meddling were appropriate or could be justified. It came in this regard to the
conclusion that his findings were inappropriate and could not be justified on the papers
before him. The SCA found that the learned judge had failed to have regard to some basic
tenets concerning the judicial function and that he had failed to apply fundamental rules of
procedure. This led to the erroneous findings.

The SCA nevertheless dismissed an application by Mr Mbeki and the Government of the
RSA to intervene on the ground that they had no interest in the relief but only in the reasons
of the court below.

The members of the Court were Harms DP and Farlam, Ponnan, Maya and Cachalia JJA. The
judgment will be available on the Court’s website www.supremecourtofappeal.gov.za or at
www.saflii.org.za.

---ends---