DA to complain over Michael Hulley

DA to complain over Michael Hulley
2011-11-08 17:53


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Johannesburg - An official complaint would be lodged about President Jacob Zuma's appointment of his personal attorney as his legal advisor, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.

MP Geordin Hill-Lewis said the DA also wanted to know why the president needed a criminal lawyer as a legal adviser.

"While defending ... Zuma on charges pertaining to the arms deal, Mr [Michael] Hulley took possession of tapes of intercepted telephone conversations between Bulelani Ngcuka, then National Director of Public Prosecutions, and [then] Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy," Hill-Lewis said.

"... Concerns about Hulley's involvement in the spy tape saga are part of a growing body of evidence which raise serious questions about the president's judgment in appointing him."

Hill-Lewis said there were two outstanding investigations into Hulley.

One was for his role in Aurora Mining, a company which collapsed and left people unemployed. The other was about the alleged possession of stolen property in relation to the secret tapes that ensured that corruption charges against Zuma were dropped.

The DA said in view of these investigations it was highly unlikely that Hulley would have been granted the necessary security clearance special advisers needed.

"The only possible explanation is that he was granted an exemption by the president," said the DA.

"Such special treatment heightens concerns that Mr Hulley has been hired by the president not to advise him on state legal matters, but to act as a firewall - at the state's expense - to shield President Zuma during the upcoming arms deal inquiry."

The opposition party felt that Hulley's presence at the presidency undermined the president's "new-found commitment to transparency and accountability".

The Law Society should determine whether Hulley was still fit to serve in its ranks, and the president should retract his appointment, the DA said.


- SAPA

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