CAPE TOWN – The suggestion by some in the ANC that President Jacob Zuma should be given amnesty for the corruption charges against him, in order to unify the factionalised party, is outrageous and should be dismissed with the contempt that it deserves, the DA said on Sunday.
The opposition party said it will continue to fight for Zuma to have his day in court.
No amnesty deal should be granted to the man who – with the help of his party – sold South Africa to the highest bidders, DA federal executive chairman James Selfe said.
While the legal battle to hold Zuma accountable for 783 charges of corruption, fraud, and racketeering against him has been ongoing for close to a decade now, it is still far from over.
Selfe said Zuma had been abusing the court system to delay his inevitable date with the law but vowed the president would not succeed
He accused the ANC of using every opportunity to shield Zuma from accountability and said the latest proposed “political settlement” was hardly surprising, but was symptomatic of a party that had completely lost its way and was too far gone to ever “self-correct.”
“We have filed answering affidavits to Mr Zuma’s appeal against the High Court’s ruling that the NPA’s [National Prosecuting Authority] decision to drop the 700 charges against him was irrational and we will appear again in court on 15 September 2017,” he said.
“It is outrageous that the ANC is considering amnesty for its leader because they have completely failed to hold him and those politically connected to him accountable for running this country into the ground. This latest amnesty move proves that the ANC has been complicit in undermining the Constitution and condoning the abuse of power.
“Such amnesty will set the precedent that powerful politicians deserve special treatment and will violate a sacred constitutional principle, namely, that all citizens are equal before the law.
“The ANC cannot be allowed to continue abusing our democratic institutions to protect one man. ANC factionalism should not be an excuse to subvert the authority of the Constitution. The DA will continue using every legal avenue to protect the Constitution,” Selfe said.
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