Shaun Abrahams 'a wolf in sheep's
clothing' - Maimane
2016-11-29
18:33
Thulani Gqirana, News24
Shaun Abrahams (Thulani
Gqirana, News24).
Cape Town – NPA head Shaun Abrahams is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,
DA leader Mmusi Maimane told Parliament on Tuesday.
The EFF’s Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi, meanwhile, called him a threat to
the independence of the NPA.
Maimane was opening a debate meant to focus on the effect of the
NPA’s decisions on the economy, when he instead focused on the politics.
This was in relation to the NPA’s decision to charge Finance
Minister Pravin Gordhan with fraud, and then later withdrawing the charges
against him.
The DA leader reflected on the past decade at the NPA, which has
had six national heads in total.
The NPA had been used, Maimane said, by President Jacob Zuma to
shield himself from the law.
"The position of National Director of Public Prosecutions is
meant to be a ten-year term, but over the past decade it has been reduced to a
revolving door of deployed cadres."
Abrahams 'must fall'
Maimane said all NPA heads had vacated because of one person, and
that was Zuma.
"This was either because they weren’t prepared to do his
bidding, or because it was so blatantly obvious they were being controlled that
the courts had to pull the plug on them. Instead of fighting crime and
corruption, this vital institution of our democracy has now become a key ally
of the criminal syndicate dominant in the ANC," he said.
They should not be fooled by Abrahams, Maimane said.
"He goes by 'Shaun the Sheep', but don’t let this fool you.
This man is a wolf in sheep’s clothing."
He called for the way in which the NPA head was hired and fired to
be changed, as currently left too much power in the hands of the president.
The most important thing, Mkhaliphi said, was the impact that the
NPA’s decisions now had on democracy.
The EFF had already written to the bar council demanding that
Abrahams be removed, she said.
"He must fall for taking political orders from Luthuli House
and threatening the NPA independence. But the most dangerous person is Mr
Zuma," she said.
'Unbelievable inanity and stupidity'
The president wanted to capture everything, Mkhaliphi said.
"Even himself, Mr Shaun Abrahams must fall, and he must fall
with his father, Mr Zuma."
UDM chief whip Nqabayomzi Kwankwa questioned what caused such an
institution to behave with "unbelievable inanity and stupidity".
The ANC insisted that they respected the independence of the NPA.
Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery accused the opposition of
politicising the NPA.
He also raised concerns about the party allowing DA MP Glynnis
Breytenbach to speak on the matter, as she "was an accused person".
"It is appropriate that such a person is a shadow minister of
justice, of all things?" the deputy minister said.
Breytenbach had an axe to grind with the NPA, Jeffery said.
