The Constitutional Court has granted former National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha leave to appeal against the Pretoria High Court judgement upholding President Thabo Mbeki’s decision to fire him.
Mbeki sacked Masetlha in March last year after what he described as a ‘breakdown of trust†between him and the former spy boss.
Masetlha’s challenge to Mbeki’s decision hit a snag in December last year when the Pretoria High Court found in the president’s favour.
Masetlha is arguing that the procedure followed in suspending and later dismissing him was unlawful. He claims that the initial decision to suspend him was taken by Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils, even though only the president had the power to do so.
Although Kasrils signed Masetlha’s suspension letter on October 20 2005, Mbeki affirmed in a November 15 Cabinet memorandum that the suspension decision was his and that Kasrils had merely endorsed it. Masetlha also complains that Mbeki did not allow him the opportunity to state his side of the story before his dismissal.
In his ruling, High Court Judge Ben du Plessis accepted Mbeki’s argument that there was a breakdown of trust and that it constituted a lawful basis for the dismissal.
Masetlha questions the ruling in an affidavit before the Constitutional Court, claiming Du Plessis was trying to spare Kasrils and Mbeki political embarrassment.
He argues that the president decided to fire him as an expression of support for Kasrils in the latter’s campaign to discredit him and drive him out of office.
In the fraud case against him, Masetlha has levelled the same allegation against the Inspector General of Intelligence, Zolile Ngcakani, whose investigation into the surveillance of ANC businessman Saki Macozoma and the ‘hoax email†scandal implicated Masetlha.
Mbeki is opposing the application. The case is set down for May this year.