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President Thabo Mbeki should explain to Parliament why he is reluctant to reinstate suspended National Prosecution Authority (NPA) head, Vusi Pikoli, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.
"President Mbeki needs to clarify his position on the Democratic Alliance's call for him to brief Parliament on his refusal to review his decision to suspend Advocate Vusi Pikoli," DA Parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said.
Information that had recently came to light suggested that Mbeki had misled the nation when he stated that he suspended the NPA head for failure to brief him about the NPA's investigation against national commissioner Jackie Selebi.
"Evidence before the courts show that the President had already been informed by May 2007 by Advocate Vusi Pikoli that the NPA was investigating Selebi.
"This has cast new light on the President's suspension of Pikoli which was ostensibly a result of his (Pikoli's) alleged failure to keep the government informed on the Selebi case," Botha said.
The impact caused by Pikoli's suspension on the country was such that it required Parliament to intervene.
"As a result of the impact that this situation is having on key state institutions, including the NPA, as well as the suspicions that it has cast over Mbeki's handling of specific events, Parliament not only has every right to call the President to account, but also every reason to do so," she said.
Mbeki should explain to the nation why "in light of the recent revelations, the President has consistently denied any knowledge of investigations against Selebi, and whether there is any substance to the irretrievable breakdown in the working relationship between the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions," Botha said.
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