The South African Cabinet on Thursday stated that it was urgently seeking legal advice on the inferences made by Judge Chris Nicholson that President Thabo Mbeki and Cabinet interfered with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regarding the decision to prosecute African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma.

Government spokesperson Themba Maseko said that Cabinet was not rejecting the judgement itself, but merely the inferences that there had been political involvement in this case.

“The legal opinion that we are seeking is not going to be looking at the heart of Judge Nicholson’s judgement, but it is going to be looking at those references made that Cabinet did interfere with the NPA’s decision to prosecute Zuma.”

Maseko stated that the legal advice being sought from a private firm would advise Cabinet on what options were available. He added that one option was for the government to lodge an appeal to either the Constitutional Court of the Court of Appeals, and make an application regarding the comments made by the judge.

He added that during Zuma’s trial, the State was not given the opportunity to present its side of the story and Judge Nicholson’s remarks were made without “concrete evidence of political interference”.

Maseko stated that at no stage during the investigation or the trial itself did any member of Cabinet discuss the case with the NPA, and whether or not it should prosecute Zuma. “The Cabinet is purely saying that it is untrue. If that were to be true, it would mean that the executive breached the constitution.”

Responding to a question on whether Cabinet had received calls for Mbeki to step down, Maseko said that the Cabinet meeting had not discussed the issue. However, he added that Cabinet members were of the opinion that the Cabinet as a collective had worked together to place the country in a prominent position, and that it would be unfortunate if the President were asked to depart.

Maseko added that the ANC had made no clear decision about the future of Mbeki, but was likely to reach one during this weekend. When a decision was taken, Cabinet would need to reconvene and discuss further steps.

“Our primary objective at this stage is that the work and business of government must continue, and that all South Africans go to bed at night with the full knowledge that we have a government that continues to run the country.”