Axed National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli has informed President Kgalema Motlanthe that he intends taking legal action against Motlanthe’s decision to fire him. Picture: Thembinkosi Dwayisa

Suspended National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Vusi Pikoli has written to President Kgalema Motlanthe informing him of imminent legal action and cautioning the president against appointing his successor.

While an inquiry chaired by former speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala found Pikoli fit to hold office, Motlanthe decided that he should be fired, effectively endorsing former president Thabo Mbeki’s decision to suspend him on the grounds that he showed a lack of “appreciation and sensitivity to matters of national security”.

Motlanthe’s spokesman Thabo Masebe and Pikoli’s lawyer Aslam Moosajee yesterday confirmed the existence of the letter but refused to comment further, saying the matter was before Parliament.

With the National Assembly widely expected to ratify Motlanthe’s decision to remove Pikoli from office, the suspended NPA head’s letter attempts to delay the appointment of his replacement until the court has heard an application for a review of the matter.

It is understood Pikoli will approach the court on the grounds that the decision to remove him was not rational. Motlanthe also reportedly offered Pikoli a R10m settlement, a move that could strengthen Pikoli’s legal challenge.

While Motlanthe would come under scrutiny if the matter goes to court, officials who served under Mbeki could also be dragged into the fray. Insiders said yesterday the director-general in the Presidency, Frank Chikane, and a legal advisor in the Presidency, Mojanku Gumbi, had driven the process against Pikoli.

The succession battle in the NPA is in sharp focus as it is the incumbent in that office who will have to weigh up representations made by African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma and decide on whether to continue the corruption case against him. Zuma is the ANC’s presidential candidate and poised to be the next head of state. If the Pikoli matter is not resolved before the election, Zuma could well appoint the person who will decide the future of his case ­ when he is head of state.

Motlanthe is not legally constrained by Pikoli’s letter. He could appoint a new NPA head while awaiting the outcome of Pikoli’s legal challenge.

Meanwhile, opposition parties warned yesterday that Parliament should think twice before approving the decision to fire Pikoli because it seemed he could successfully challenge it in court.

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) said if he did so, Pikoli would expose the political reasons that prompted Motlanthe’s decision to fire him.

“It will clearly end up in court and all of us who have done the deliberating will end up in the dock," ACDP justice spokesman Steve Swart told the parliamentary committee yesterday.

Swart and other opposition MPs said they feared the panel was a farce since it was clear that the ANC had decided to oust Pikoli and had already picked his successor, but the ANC caucus denied that this was the case.

Press reports yesterday said the government was poised to name Durban advocate Muzi Wilfred Mkhize as the new head of the NPA. Inkatha Freedom Party chief whip Koos van der Merwe said: “We are playing along like fools because the decision has been taken."

The committee must report back to the National Assembly by February 13. With Sapa

With acknowledgements to Hajra Omarjee and Business Day.