LETTER: Presumption of innocence doesn’t apply in Ace Magashule suspension
This is a disciplinary hearing of a party, not a criminal trial
A perusal of the founding affidavit ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has filed in the high court reveals that success in his case will surely split the ANC into what he calls the “CR17” and “radical economic transformation (RET)” factions, in a way that will be permanent and irrevocable. He seeks to overrule the will of the majority of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) in a manner that will be hard to sell to any court and impossible to impose on that majority. Here’s why.
The notion that an accused person is entitled to be presumed innocent applies during a criminal trial, not in disciplinary proceedings involving a precautionary suspension that is manifestly required to preserve the good name and reputation of the organisation doing the precautionary suspending. Precautionary suspensions are well-known in our law, a fact that has passed Magashule by in his efforts to litigate his way out of loss of power and prestige...
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