Judgement reserved in the so-called SPY TAPES

Raymond Pani

03 March 2016

Judgment has been reserved in the so-called spy tapes case in the High Court in Pretoria.

Earlier, the Democratic Alliance argued that the secretly recorded conversations between former National Prosecuting Authority head Bulelani Ngcuka and Scorpions head Leonard Mccarthy should have had very little impact on the prosecution of President Jacob Zuma.

The party says there were others including then Justice Minister Bridgett Mabandla who also believed charging Zuma before the elective conference was too risky.

Former NPA boss Mokotedi Mpshe had met with Mabandla before a final decision to delay charging President Zuma.

The Democratic Alliance told the High Court in Pretoria that withdrawing charges against President Jacob Zuma damaged the public image of the National Prosecuting Authority. 

The party is disputing argument's by the NPA and President Zuma's counsel that withdrawing the charges was about showing the public that political interference would not be tolerated. 

The NPA argued on Wednesday that it dropped the charges to protect the independence of the NPA.