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Thread: Can the State President be prosecuted?

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Can the State President be prosecuted?

    I see the Supreme Court of Appeal has overturned the Nicholson judgement in the Zuma corruption charge saga.
    High Court Judge Chris Nicholson took his eye off the ball and "red-carded" high-profile leaders when he implied political meddling in the Jacob Zuma graft case, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) said on Monday.

    In a unanimous judgment, five judges of the SCA bench ruled that the corruption and fraud charges against Zuma must stand - and gave Nicholson a tongue-lashing for his judgment, described as "incomprehensible".

    "'Political meddling' was not an issue that had to be determined," said acting Deputy Judge President Louis Harms, while handing down 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."

    However, the SCA ruled that it was too late to strike Nicholson's "political meddling" statements, as the "damage has been done".

    "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," said Harms.
    full story from IOL here
    Let's face it - there is no way the corruption case against JZ is going to be resolved before the upcoming elections. So we face the prospect of the State President being appointed in the midst of being prosecuted.

    What is the likely outcome of that?

    I'm also a little curious as to what the legal system is going to do about Judge Nicholson.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Did anyone catch Mathews Phosa on Morning Live this morning? There was this moment when he was being asked about his contention about the prosecution of JZ being politically motivated. His response was something to the effect of "Please! Don't be naive. Politicians do many things..." Complete with knowing leer.

    The fact that this might be because of available evidence and someone actually meeting the obligations of their job seemed to be a foreign concept.

    A rather damning indictment of how Mathews sees the role of the politician in society. Certainly not the servant of the people.

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