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Former President Jacob Zuma is ready to face jail instead of being “intimidated” by the State Capture Commission led by Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo, according to the Jacob Zuma Foundation.
The foundation also praised the former president for stepping down from the commission during a tea break on Thursday.
Zuma wanted Zondo to recuse himself from the commission before he could appear on the grounds that he and the vice president of the Supreme Court were friends, and that Zondo had had a child with the sister of one of his friends.
Zuma’s attorney, Advocate Muzi Sikhakane SC, told Zondo that he would be biased against her and that Zondo was a witness and judge in a dispute involving Zondo.
Sikhakhane threatened to raise his complaints to the Judicial Service Commission.
ALSO READ: Zuma condemned by former ANC activists
Zondo denied that there was a friendly relationship between him and Zuma that would force him to withdraw from the commission.
The foundation said on Friday it supported the former president who went on strike after Zondo refused to recuse himself from chairing the commission.
Zondo made the decision Thursday after Sikhakhane’s legal request that the president recuse himself from the commission before Zuma testified.
In a statement issued by the foundation, he said he was concerned that Zondo would not “realize that as soon as his unusual statement was contradicted, he could not be the arbitrator of his own dispute.”
Statement from the Jacob Zuma Foundation pic.twitter.com/Wvq0h9hEbv
– Dudu Zuma-Sambudla (@DZumaSambudla) November 20, 2020
“We are very concerned by reports that when Zuma’s legal team went to see Zondo on camera, they found Zondo with (attorney Tembeka) Ngcukaitobi SC, whose role on cameras was not explained. It is worrying that the president allowed such irregularities to occur in this matter.
“We support President Zuma and congratulate him on his firm stance to walk away from the Commission. In fact, it is a comedy of errors, reeling from one error to another.
“We congratulate President Zuma for risking everything so as not to legitimize an irregular process disguised as a legitimate Commission,” the statement said.
The foundation said that Zuma faces criminal proceedings hatched by evidentiary leaders: Zondo assisted by Ngcukaitobi.
“We know that Zuma and his team took this brave stance because they were not prepared to be intimidated and chosen to end their participation regardless of the risk of contempt proceedings.
“Zuma assures that he would rather go to jail than be intimidated by an irregular, manipulated and illegal process. We hope Zondo knows that those who pull the strings behind the scenes have no interest [sic] in the background and they will leave it as fast as they chose it, ”said the foundation.
The foundation went on to say that Sikhakhane repeatedly implored the commission to be held accountable, but all those attempts were in vain as “the forces behind the scenes were prepared to risk everything, including the integrity of the president, to achieve their nefarious goals.”
The foundation concluded: “They can turn what happened all they want, their bad intentions were thwarted and prejudices blinded them.
“We are behind President Zuma at all times, no matter what they try to destroy him. They will fail. “
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