The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) yesterday clarified remarks reportedly made by its acting head last weekend that led to a backlash from the African National Congress (ANC).

This follows a blistering attack on Tuesday by the ANC on the acting national director of the NPA, Mokotedi Mpshe, after he gave an interview to City Press in which he was quoted as saying: “If you ask me that question 14 years from now, I’ll still say Nicholson was wrong. Completely wrong.

“I don’t foresee a stage where I am going to change my position on this one. He’s wrong and that’s what I told him. Having said that, the NPA can’t operate as an island and ignore what is happening around us."

The NPA is appealing Judge Chris Nicholson’s judgment that set aside the NPA’s decision to prosecute ANC president Jacob Zuma, and inferred there was political interference in the work of the NPA. The judgment led to the ANC recalling Thabo Mbeki from the country’s presidency.

The NPA appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal on November 28 .

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe this week condemned in the “strongest possible terms” Mpshe’s comments concerning Zuma and Nicholson’s ruling.

“These statements clearly confirm once again that the NPA has cast aside all pretence of professionalism or political neutrality ­ it has come out in the open and has effectively admitted that it is pursuing a political vendetta against president Zuma,” said Mantashe.

In the interview at the weekend, Mpshe admitted that “this trial ( Zuma’s corruption trial) was a political trial, and was difficult for the NPA to handle".

Yesterday the NPA responded in a statement, saying that Mpshe’s comments were quoted out of context.

“Some excerpts of that interview have been selectively quoted in the media, a situation which has opened the statements to various interpretations that were not inherent in the message being conveyed,” the NPA statement read.

The NPA also said Mpshe’s comments were made in a general context of the 10 years of the NPA’s existence, and the climate in which it had operated.

“The acting national director of the NPA expressed an opinion on the incorrectness of Judge Nicholson’s judgment. It is a matter of public record that the NPA successfully applied for leave to appeal against this judgment, based on its conviction that it was legally flawed.

“Appealing a case because one believes that it is incorrect, and providing the basis for one’s contestation, is within the framework of our law in this country. This is a right that is afforded all citizens of this country, including the NPA,” the statement read.

The NPA’s statement was issued in a move to manage the political fallout, which has resulted in the ANC going toe-to-toe with the NPA.

The ANC said early this week that Mpshe had “shown his utter contempt and disrespect for the rule of law” by proclaiming that he would continue to hold that Judge Nicholson was “wrong", regardless of the outcome of the NPA’s pending appeal.

Political analyst Adam Habib said though it was important to assert its independence from political interference, the NPA should find a “balance” when taking on the ANC with regard to Zuma’s continuing legal battles.

With acknowledgements to Karima Brown and Business Day.