Issued by: Office of the President
13 August 1998
RESPONSE BY THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE JUDGMENT IN THE SARFU CASE
The President's Office has now had an opportunity of considering the very lengthy judgment of Judge De Villiers in the SARFU case.
In the reasons given by the Judge, he makes findings on three aspects of the case, the conduct and character of the witnesses, certain facts in the case, and the law. At this stage the Office would merely wish to point out that there are two very different views of each of these sets of issues. The Judge has chosen largely to accept, and, in some cases, to go further than the interpretation of these issues submitted to him by the SARFU legal team. It is a matter of public record that the President, and the Government believes these views to be wrong, a belief which has been strengthened by a reading of the judgment. However, it is not necessary nor is it proper nor dignified to refute the opinions of the Judge point by point through the media. The proper form of any such refutation should be through the legal process, a process in which the President has every confidence.
The propriety of this view is strengthened by the fact that, as matters stand, the judgment has absolutely no force and effect until confirmed by the Constitutional Court. Dr Luyt and his legal team, if they wish to rely on the judgment, must now place the judgment before the Constitutional Court for it to confirm is correctness. If they do not do so, then the President would certainly wish to do so. It is thus premature for the President, as litigant and as Head of State, to engage in a public debate on Judge De Villiers's reasons.