Judge Chris Nicholson may have effectively found former justice ministers Penuell Maduna and Brigitte Mabandla guilty of political interference despite the fact that there were no allegations made against them by ANC president Jacob Zuma, the Supreme Court of Appeal heard on Friday.

Questioned by Deputy Judge President Louis Harms as to whether Zuma had specifically named the two minister in his allegations of political interference, Kemp conceded that neither had been named.

"And the judge finds that they are guilty of a crime?" asked Harms.

In his September 12 judgment Nicholson found that both Maduna and current Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla had behaved badly.

"Put at its very lowest Mr Maduna seems to have played a not insignificant part in the planning of the strategy in question, whatever its end objective might be," Nicholson found.

Nicholson said former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka's praise of Maduna at the press conference where Ngcuka announced his resignation was noteworthy.

He said the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions had been set up constitutionally to act without interference from politicians, but that Ngcuka's praise of Maduna's leadership was a clear sign that this was not the case.

The NPA is seeking to have Nicholson's September 12 judgement overturned on appeal.

Nicholson ruled that the NPA's decision to charge Zuma was unlawful because he had not been allowed make representations to the National Director of Public Prosecutions before he was charged.

Zuma has claimed that he had a legitimate right to make representations to the NPA after it reversed their decision not to prosecute him. Zuma's legal team has also claimed that the NDPP's decision to prosecute last year constituted a reversal of Ngcuka's 2003 decision.

Marumo Moerane, appearing for former president Thabo Mbeki, argued that Nicholson's findings of political interference "violated his constitutional rights as president as well as an ordinary person".

Mbeki wants to challenge Nicholson's finding of political interference, which Mbeki claims led the ANC to recall him from his position as president of the country.

NPA advocate Wim Trengove asked the court to find that references to political interference in decisions to prosecuting ANC Jacob Zuma be ignored as they were irrelevant to the matter before the court.

"As a matter of law they are irrelevant, they should not have been made."

Trengove asked the panel of five judges to let the matter rest for now, but indicated that the issue might come relevant in possible future litigation such as when Zuma might ask the courts for a permanent stay of prosecution.

"This very issue could be one of the centre pieces of the issues to come."

Trengove said although the comments had serious implications in terms of misconduct of NPA bosses which should lead to steps such as "internal investigations" into the apparent conduct it should be struck out.

He said even if it suggested criminal conduct on the side of Mbeki and contraventions of the NPA Act, the allegations should be struck out or simply be ignored.

Trengove said the presiding judge in the high court made the findings of political interference without parties making any presentations on the matter.

"We submit that the lordship (Nicholson) was quite wrong (in making the comments)," Trengove said.

He said the SCA should "simply" acknowledge that the allegation were of a most serious nature but rule that they were irrelevant to the matter before the court.

Earlier, Trengove told the court it made no sense for NDPP decisions to be subject to review, while those of his juniors were not.

Trengove said members of the NPA at "lower levels" were not subject review when they reversed their own decisions and that it was "wholly illogical" for only the National Director of Public Prosecutions to be subject to review.

It has been claimed that in terms of section 179(5) of the constitution, the NDPP needed to consult with a Director of Public Prosecutions.

The State has argued that the NDPP needed to consult with a DPP only when he was reversing that DPP's decision to not to prosecute.

Trengove argued that it made no sense for the NDPP to consult with a DPP when reversing his own decision.

With acknowledgements to Andre Grobler, Giordano Stolley and Sapa.