GOVT APPEALS CJ JUDGMENT

MBABANE – Government is now challenging the judgment issued by Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala where he declared some sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act unconstitutional.

The CJ observed that some of the sections of the Act were unconstitutional when he dismissed an application filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to have erstwhile Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Gideon Dlamini arrested with Nigerian businessman Fred Ngeri and his wife Sindile.

The trio was alleged to have colluded to defraud government a sum of E1.3 million, which was donated by the Embassy of Qatar for the Online Shopping Project.

It was alleged that they organised themselves into a criminal enterprise with the aim of committing various crimes through a contentious Public private partnership (PPP) arrangement, which involved setting up an online trading platform through the PPP. The CJ found that the ACC failed to establish a prima facie case warranting the prosecution of the three as required by the Anti-Corruption Act. Through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), government yesterday noted an appeal against the judgment.

They argued that the CJ erred both in law and fact in declaring the sections of the Act unconstitutional. It was the DPP’s contention that the CJ could not sit as a single judge and declare certain sections of the law unconstitutional. In most instances, issues which touch on the Constitution are dealt with by the full bench of the High Court.

Most of the sections of the Act, which the CJ found to be unconstitutional, were those from which the ACC derives its powers when arresting suspects charged with corruption.

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