Franny Rabkin
22 September 2008
Johannesburg — IT WAS no wonder that " populist politics" was so easily developed, said Competition Appeal Court Judge President Dennis Davis last week.
He said that this was bound to happen when, for "vast sections of our country, the law doesn't seem to work, and the constitution seems to be only for the rich".
Davis, speaking at a gala dinner for the South African c hapter of the A ssociation of Certified F raud E xaminers, said he found it " odd" that " it was fine that every day, people are sent to prison for stealing food, and yet people who steal billions muster up a whole group of lawyers and go through all the courts for years, and that is also fine".
Davis made it clear that he was not referring to any specific case and also refused to comment on Judge Chris Nicholson's judgment in African National Congress p resident Jacob Zuma's case.
But, Davis said, even though he was confident that Nicholson was not influenced by anything other than the law, he was " anxious that, although we've heard all these wonderful things about the independence of the judiciary, I wonder whether the next time around crowds come to court, they will think if they shout loudly enough they will get the verdict they want".
He said the institutions of democracy were " under strain," and " we are not out of the woods yet". But, he said, these challenges were the "struggles and birth pains of a society emerging into something we hope for".
He referred to the "wisdom" of former president Nelson Mandela who, after hearing of a Constitutional Court decision he disagreed with, said he thought the judgment was wrong but that we had fought for a constitutional democracy, and we would respect and abide by the decision. Davis said this was " the kind of wisdom we desperately need now".
He said while not commenting on the merits of Nicholson's judgment, the point on the need to have an independent National Prosecuting Authority was " hugely valid". He said the recommendation of a commission of i nquiry into the arms deal was the other aspect of the judgment that required careful consideration.
On the Scorpions, Davis said there was a " distinct impression that the decision (to disband the Scorpions) was not one where the paramount consideration was the improvement of accountability and the placing of crooks behind bars".
"Whether it's the Scorpions or anyone else -- if there are problems, these should be fixed, because we definitely need an institution that holds crooks responsible."
He said the debate should be on how to improve accountability, rather than whether or not to disband institutions, and that accountability and transparency were fundamental principles of our constitutional democracy.
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