Former head of National Prosecution Authority (NPA) Bulelani Ngcuka maintains that his new book, The Sting in the Tail, is not intended to settle political scores.
He said the biography aims to document some of the most important moments in our country’s legal and political history post apartheid.
Ngcuka was speaking at the Sowetan Dialogues held on Wednesday night. The event was aimed at discussing the book which he co-wrote with Marion Sparg.
The offering shines the spotlight on Ngcuka’s role as the first national director of public prosecutions and revisits some of the decisions he took while occupying this critical role.
In 2003, Ngcuka was heavily criticised for deciding not to prosecute former president Jacob Zuma for corruption. Back then Ngcuka said he did not have enough evidence implicating Zuma of any wrongdoing. In the book he gives more details on what influenced his decision and he still maintains that he took the right decision at the time.
“It is not a decision that I took alone. I brought in senior members of the prosecution who were a bit distant from the investigation so that they can bring objectivity. I asked them to review the case and they came to the conclusion that it would be dangerous to charge Zuma when we did not have sufficient evidence,” he said.
Ngcuka resigned from the NPA in 2004 but Zuma’s tussle with the NPA remains in court. He is facing corruption charges linked to the 1999 Arms deal.
Ngcuka spoke briefly about Zuma's current court challenges.
“I am familiar with the charges [against Zuma] that are currently before the court, they are different from the charges that would have been preferred against him at the time when I was there. They [NPA] have managed to collect more evidence subsequently to that. You can see that even the charges are very much different,” said Ngcuka.
Having left the NPA, Ngcuka said he had encouraged those who remained in the organisation to always prosecute where there is enough evidence.
He also said that having highly publicised arrests helped to instil fear among many criminals.
“If you have evidence that an offence has been committed and it's sufficient for you to get a conviction, you charge. There is no doubt about that. No-one is above the law.”
Ngcuka also uses the book to pour praises on civil rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge (GM), saying the late anti-apartheid activist moulded his legal ambition.
Mxenge was brutally assassinated in 1981 by the oppressive regime, but his contribution in the country’s democratic state continues to inspire many, Ngcuka said.
“GM was fearless. I learnt from him that when you have a cause to fight for, you must continue with that. There will be a number of obstacles along the way but you must never give up,” he said.
The Sting in the Tail is available at reliable bookshops.
Bulelani Ngcuka says his book is not intended to settle political scores
Former head of National Prosecution Authority (NPA) Bulelani Ngcuka maintains that his new book, The Sting in the Tail, is not intended to settle political scores.
He said the biography aims to document some of the most important moments in our country’s legal and political history post apartheid.
Ngcuka was speaking at the Sowetan Dialogues held on Wednesday night. The event was aimed at discussing the book which he co-wrote with Marion Sparg.
The offering shines the spotlight on Ngcuka’s role as the first national director of public prosecutions and revisits some of the decisions he took while occupying this critical role.
In 2003, Ngcuka was heavily criticised for deciding not to prosecute former president Jacob Zuma for corruption. Back then Ngcuka said he did not have enough evidence implicating Zuma of any wrongdoing. In the book he gives more details on what influenced his decision and he still maintains that he took the right decision at the time.
“It is not a decision that I took alone. I brought in senior members of the prosecution who were a bit distant from the investigation so that they can bring objectivity. I asked them to review the case and they came to the conclusion that it would be dangerous to charge Zuma when we did not have sufficient evidence,” he said.
Ngcuka resigned from the NPA in 2004 but Zuma’s tussle with the NPA remains in court. He is facing corruption charges linked to the 1999 Arms deal.
Ngcuka spoke briefly about Zuma's current court challenges.
“I am familiar with the charges [against Zuma] that are currently before the court, they are different from the charges that would have been preferred against him at the time when I was there. They [NPA] have managed to collect more evidence subsequently to that. You can see that even the charges are very much different,” said Ngcuka.
Having left the NPA, Ngcuka said he had encouraged those who remained in the organisation to always prosecute where there is enough evidence.
He also said that having highly publicised arrests helped to instil fear among many criminals.
“If you have evidence that an offence has been committed and it's sufficient for you to get a conviction, you charge. There is no doubt about that. No-one is above the law.”
Ngcuka also uses the book to pour praises on civil rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge (GM), saying the late anti-apartheid activist moulded his legal ambition.
Mxenge was brutally assassinated in 1981 by the oppressive regime, but his contribution in the country’s democratic state continues to inspire many, Ngcuka said.
“GM was fearless. I learnt from him that when you have a cause to fight for, you must continue with that. There will be a number of obstacles along the way but you must never give up,” he said.
The Sting in the Tail is available at reliable bookshops.
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