Zuma Foundation slams NPA for denying 'nolle prosequi' against Ramaphosa

The Jacob Zuma Foundation has accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of making a false statement, denying they have issued a nolle prosequi (unwilling to pursue) certificate against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The foundation slammed the NPA for stating the certificate issued for private prosecution did not mention the president.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. The statement is demonstrably false and it is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to rescue Ramaphosa,” said foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi.

Zuma announced on the eve of the ANC’s 55th elective conference he would privately prosecute Ramaphosa.

This relates to proceedings instituted by Zuma against state advocate Billy Downer.

The former president is accusing Ramaphosa of being an “accessory after the fact” and breaching provisions of the NPA Act.

But the NPA clarified on Wednesday that no such certificate was issued. Instead, the nolle prosequi certificates which were issued did not include Ramaphosa.

Zuma’s Foundation, however, found this statement “mind boggling”.

If the denial was true, it would be inappropriate for the NPA to “blatantly take sides in favour of a criminal suspect”, Manyi said.

“We challenge the NPA to tell the country whether it is prepared to prosecute Ramaphosa as an accessory after the fact in respect of the offences raised in the police complaint. If so, then the private prosecution must be stopped. If not, then it will have no option but to issue a certificate to that effect, which will bring us to the same position as the present.”

The foundation said last week Ramaphosa has been summoned to appear in the Johannesburg high court on January 19.

“The NPA must stay out of this dispute and humble itself to the final say of courts in the interpretation of what the NPA meant to convey in using phrases like 'any person' and 'in connection with the matter'. Subjective statements in that regard are not worth the paper they are written on,” Manyi said.

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