RULING BY AN APARTHEID JUDGE NOT SUPRISING By: Kaizer Mohau
The recently much talked about judgement by Judge Luis Harms of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on the NPA v/s African National Congress (ANC) President Jacob Zuma matter, came to many of us as no surprise. It is our view that this judgement was indeed bound to come as it did – against the ANC President. It is within this context that some of us believe the judgement reflected the continuation of a political trial against Jacob Zuma and for the vindication of Thabo Mbeki. Those celebrating this ruling in the main are all enemies not only of the current leadership of the ANC but enemies of the ANC itself and the National Democratic Revolution. It is without any fear of contradiction that Judge Harms is part of the previous apartheid state security network. On the 4th of May 1996 Harms was implicated by one chief witness in the killing of Cde David Webster during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings on the state ordered killing of ANC and liberation movement activists and cadres. It will be remembered that Judge Harms was prior to that period of the TRC, appointed by De Klerk to investigate the existence of the apartheid state security machinery which was responsible for the killings, tortures, maiming and kidnapping of our cadres, it is this Harms commission that told the world that it has not found any evidence demonstrating the existence of such a structure. Despite the abovementioned report, in his defence in relation to the evidence presented before the TRC by Maggie Friedman on the fact that, I repeat the fact that Harms himself was part of the apartheid legal cover-up on this matter in defence of those accused of killing Cde David Webster, Harms said "I also understand her belief that Dr. Webster had been killed by an operative of the CCB" – which Harms in his report to De Klerk claimed that there is no evidence to the effect that a structure responsible for this satanic acts ever existed within the apartheid state. Clearly, Harms in this case was contradicting and exposing himself and the real reasons why De Klerk appointed him – at no stage will any leader appoint a person to head a department let alone a commission of enquiry – who does not share his or her views on issues, in this instance as we all know what De Klerk wanted to confirm to the public through that commission, it was the big lie that there are no death squads in his government. Why Harms would not concede to the political meddling by Thabo Mbeki? Judge Harms argued during the presentation of his judgement that the conclusion reached by Judge Nicholson on the political meddling was not based on facts but on media reports which is tantamount to say, the conclusion was based on rumours. Perhaps, judge Harms was not in South Africa in past 10 years, because if he was in South Africa he would know for starters that the issue of the political conspiracy landed on Nicholson's desk firstly as part of the application presented to Nicholson by the National Prosecution Authority – with the view that the judge must never consider this issue as an important issue. Now as such Judge Nicholson was deliberating in his judgement on all issue before him with no exception. So after serious consideration as he said, Judge Nicholson concluded that there exist a possibility that indeed there was a political meddling on issue relating to the then Deputy President of the country and the ANC. Something that makes difficult to conclude otherwise besides giving the ANC President a benefit of the doubt. Nicholson sided a number of mitigating factors in this regard – the Bulelani Ngcuka' off the record briefing honoured with the presence in a press conference by the then minister of Justice. The inferences made and later denied by apartheid judge Hilary Squires that of "A generally corrupt relationship between Mr. Shabir Shaik and the current President of the ANC" an inference which by the way was made in Jacob Zuma's absence. Which subsequently led to the then President of the Republic and current behind the scene "Honorary President of the so-called Cope" to dismiss from Government the then Deputy President of the Republic. Today, when factual inference is made about Thabo Mbeki the issue of his absence in court becomes important while to Jacob Zuma it was not – this is outright selective justice. Which part of the above was not political in its very nature? Our view is that it is Harms himself who has not only ignored the fundamental principles of the country's constitution but equally compromised the basic tenets of a democratic and independence of the judiciary. Despite our illiteracy on issues of the law, we are not politically illiterate as Harms and his political handlers in the so-called COPE think. The tendency of judge Luis Harms of lambasting other judges at the expense of appeasing his political handlers is not a thing of today. In the Cape Argus of December 31, 2004, it was reported that the same judge Luis Harms branded Cape Judge President John Hlophe as being "unreasonable, discourteous, dilatory and arrogant" - Dialectical relations between the apartheid judges and investigators It will be noted that one of the issues we have raised overtime about the NPA and the Scorpions was the question of the former apartheid's killing and security machinery operatives. We have said that amongst other mistakes we have made was to down look at the importance of ensuring that no apartheid investigators are included in our institutions of the state especially those we are not sure have changed. In this context one must conclude that judge Harms himself is one of those we should seriously consider when confronting the issue of the judicial transformation. It is a well known fact that the NPA and the Scorpions in particular have for the good part of their existence been operating as the political private army of the 1996 class project and it must follow that judge Harms represent the political private Kangaroo court of the project. They actually shares one thing in common that is their passionate hatred of the African National Congress especially under the current leadership. Finally, after accusing Judge Nicholson for parading his political preference in dealing with the issues relating to Comrade Jacob Zuma last year, Harms contradicts himself when he says that "Mr. Mbeki and other members of government had reasons to be upset" – firstly, Harms will know that Mr. Mbeki was not at the SCA during the presentation of their Kangaroo court judgement, and Mr. Mbeki was prevented from amongst other things expressing his "upset ness". So the issue that Mbeki is upset judge Harms read about it in the newspapers and the media in general as Thabo Mbeki was denied the opportunity to present his application against the Nicholson Judgement. So it is disingenuous for a judge to accuse another judge of using media clippings in a case before him or her yet the same judge makes inferences from media clippings. Indeed there are apartheid and counter revolutionary judges. In the spirit of my ANC, My Vision, My Future campaign – we shall defend the ANC and our leaders. Kaizer Mohau is a member of the ANC in the Tlokwe Sub region, Potchefstroom Writing in his personal capacity --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
