Congratulations on publishing Professor Pierre de Vos's excellent article bringing together the evidence that Deputy President Jacob Zuma has publicly undermined the independence and credibility of the constitutionally created office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions.

The DA has made many of the points in De Vos's article but he gathers them to put a damning case against the deputy president and the public protector for pandering Zuma's ploys to undermine the NDPP.

The point De Vos makes about parliament being ignored is also true. For instance :

The DA earlier this year asked that Bulelani Ngcuka and Maduna be summoned to the justice portfolio committee to explain why the deputy president was not charged in spite of the "prima facie" case against him, but the ANC chair of the justice portfolio committee refused to summon them.

Last week, I asked the justice minister whether Mo Shaik, Mac Maharaj and the deputy president had not contravened S32(1)(b) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act which makes it an offence to improperly interfere with, hinder or obstruct the prosecuting authority. Maduna's response was that they had not yet considered whether or not Shaik and Maharaj had breached the section.

I then put to the minister that the case against Zuma involved obtaining evidence from France, and the Scorpions have gone on record that they are trying to get that evidence through channels at the highest level.

In the meantime the deputy president claims publicly to have gone on a little investigation of his own in France with the French company which is alleged to have bribed him, and obtained the evidence that he alleges clears him of all wrongdoing.

While not revealing this evidence, Zuma has found himself not guilty.

In response, Maduna went out of his way not to say anything negative about the deputy president's actions, responding : "I doubt if indeed I would be right in saying that anyone who, for whatever reason, investigates to clear his or her name, is committing any offence."

The ANC comrades demonstrate no backbone when it comes to withstanding an onslaught on constitutional values by one of their most powerful figures.

Sheila Camerer MP SA Spokeswoman on Justice

With acknowledgements to Sheila Camerer and the Cape Tmes.