Freedom Under Law (FUL) welcomes the judgment delivered today by the Constitutional Court in which it held that the termination of Mr Mxolisi Nxasana’s position as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and the monetary settlement granted him were constitutionally invalid and that the subsequent appointment of Mr Shaun Abrahams as NDPP was also invalid. It also welcomes the Court’s order that the President is to appoint a new NDPP within 90 days.
FUL, together with Corruption Watch, brought the initial application to challenge the termination and settlement, believing these subverted the independence of the NDPP and the NPA. FUL is confident today’s judgment holds out the prospect of a reconstructed, revitalised NPA, with persons of unimpeachable integrity at its helm, able to fully play its vital role in securing criminal justice and constitutional democracy and with the public’s confidence that it is able to dispense justice without fear or favour.
FUL salutes Mr Nxasana, without whose assistance the true record of then President Zuma’s efforts to oust him from office would never have been disclosed. It will watch with interest the appointment of the next NDPP.