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The Constitutional Court today undertook the confirmation hearing on whether the appointment of Adv. Menzi Simelane as National Director of Public Prosecutions was valid. This follows the emphatic ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that the appointment of Adv. Simelane was “inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid.”

We have every confidence that the Constitutional Court will agree with the unanimous, clear and emphatic SCA judgment. The arguments advanced by the DA’s counsel today were cogent and generally well accepted by the court.

The DA’s legal challenge is of profound significance because it shows that our constitutional democracy can work to prevent the interference of politicians in state institutions designed to protect people against power abuse. It shows that the opposition can play a major role to check and balance the power of the governing party.

The DA believes that this matter goes to the heart of our criminal justice system and that it is in the public interest that the requirements and spirit of our Constitution are upheld. This is fundamentally a matter of considerable public interest, and concerns deep democratic principle.