The timing and manner of National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka’s resignation speak of political pressure, not just a personal desire to move on, political analysts agreed on Monday.
”I am sure it is a pressurised resignation. He must be exhausted,” said HSBC banking group political analyst Nic Boraine.
”The unfortunate thing is that his legal work had political implications of such a nature that he got sucked into serious political battles within the African National Congress,” said independent political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi.
Following newspaper leaks over the weekend, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed on Monday that Ngcuka, who has held the post of national director since 1998, has submitted his resignation.
President Thabo Mbeki is on leave this week and has yet to respond.
While no political analyst believed Ngcuka was asked to resign, most felt his work had put him, or was bound to put him, in an unbearable political situation.
But it was this very work that gave Ngcuka the reputation of being the tireless, impartial watchdog required of the post.
In his six years in office, he successfully prosecuted former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni for corruption and brought Deputy President Jacob Zuma into his investigations of irregularities in South Africa’s multimillion-rand arms deal. The trial of Zuma’s financial adviser Shabir Shaik is imminent.
But is any national prosecutions director who is seen to be performing well likely to be pressurised out of the job?
Judith February of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa said: ”If it is perceived that you do this too well you are going to come into trouble. This is not a uniquely South African situation. That’s the way of politics. We shouldn’t be surprised.”
Opposition political parties have always maintained that the position of national prosecutions director should be occupied by someone with no links to the ANC, to avoid the sort of political pressure they claim was brought to bear on Ngcuka.
However, Boraine suggested that on the contrary Ngcuka was not senior enough in the ANC and that a more senior party member would not have found it so hard to take on ANC heavyweights suspected of corruption.
”He was not a big enough and powerful enough figure in the history of the liberation movement. He wasn’t senior enough to take on the Tony Yengenis and the Jacob Zumas. He was open to the accusation of grandstanding,” said Boraine.
February also said Ngcuka’s successor should have enough ”political clout”.
”We need someone who is robust enough. Someone with very close party ties would have the political clout.”
Steven Friedman of the Wits Centre for Policy Studies said the affiliations of the new incumbent are entirely beside the point and that it is all about how the person performs in the position.
Until the new director has proved his/her impartiality, however, public perceptions of the state institution will be unstable.
This worried February and Friedman, who said public confidence in the NPA is vital.
”Part of building a strong, robust institution is about public perceptions. This [Ngcuka’s resignation] is a setback for that process,” said February.
She said all state institutions have been placed under pressure because of the arms deal allegations and it is unfortunate that Ngcuka has decided to resign now.
”It would have been better if he had seen that through.”
However, NPA spokesperson Makosini Nkosi said these worries are unfounded: ”To his credit Mr Ngcuka has set up a very strong organisation that can survive the departure of any one person.”
Matshiqi also felt Ngcuka’s resignation should not have too much of an impact on the functioning of the NPA. — Sapa
Ngcuka exit a matter of pressure