In a rare victory in the courts for President Jacob Zuma, the Western Cape High Court ruled this week that he was not being irrational when he decided against suspending Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba.

'I find that there would have been no compelling reasons to substitute the President's decision with this court's order,' Judge Nape Dolamo said, according to a News24 report.

He was responding to the DA's contention that Zuma acted irrationally by not suspending Jiba after allegations of misconduct were levelled against her. 

In what is described as a cautious judgment, Dolamo explained he could see how, once Zuma had heard Jiba's side of the story, he had decided to not suspend her.

He could also not find any evidence that Jiba was being rewarded for making sure the corruption charges against Zuma were dropped. The DA initiated court proceedings in September 2015 after Zuma ignored the party’s request to initiate an inquiry into Jiba’s fitness to hold office.

The DA had asked the court to set aside Zuma's decision not to invoke section 12(6)(a) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act and hold an inquiry into her alleged misconduct. Dolamo, however, found that the President's failure to appoint a commission of inquiry was not a failure to fulfil his constitutional obligations.

Zuma was entitled to use that power at his discretion, and he had done just that, he said, according to the News24 report.

Zuma had heard Jiba's side of the story via Justice Minister Michael Masutha and National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams, and noted that there was a General Council of the Bar (GCB) application to remove her as an advocate. 

Zuma felt a GCB application might carry more weight than an inquiry, which only carried recommendations. 

Dolamo said even if he found Zuma had acted against the advice from Abrahams and Masutha, he could not have done anything anyway. This was because the separation of powers doctrine prevented him from 'wading in'.

Full News24 report