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Judge Zondo advises Jacob Zuma: he will file a criminal charge against the former president, issue a new summons and request an urgent order from ConCourt to force him to appear before the State Capture investigation.
The president of the State Capture investigation, Judge Raymond Zondo, has instructed the secretary of the commission, Professor Itumeleng Mosala, to file a criminal charge against former President Jacob Zuma for escaping from the hearing to which he had been summoned Thursday of last week.
His actions were an offense in terms of Commissions Act of 1947 that penalizes the performance of a person who is summoned to appear and testify and who withdraws before being excused.
Likewise, Zondo will also issue a summons for Zuma to appear again to respond to the 35 testimonies of the witnesses that implicate him, and will seek an urgent order from the Constitutional Court to force the former head of state to appear.
Zuma and his legal team left the Commission without permission on November 19 and claimed to have asked be excused. But Zondo disappointed this defense. “The summons to attend and remain in presence was still valid and binding at the time of his departure and had not been annulled.”
A resentful Judge Zondo said: “Mr. Zuma’s (conduct) must be treated the way our law says it should be treated. This Commission is clear about what must happen and remains determined to fulfill its role.
“Given the seriousness of Mr. Zuma’s conduct and the impact it may have on the work of the Commission and the need to ensure that we give effect to the constitutional provisions that all are equal before the law, I have decided to instruct the secretary to file a criminal complaint with the South African Police Service so that the police can investigate your conduct. The secretary (of the Commission) will make all relevant (information) available to the police ”.
The judge said that information about the illegality of Zuma’s escape would also be made available to the National Prosecutor’s Office.
Zondo said the secretary would issue a second subpoena for Zuma to appear before him; the first had taken him to the Commission to appear from November 16 to 20.
And, the Commission will make an urgent demand before the Constitutional Court to “oblige Mr. Zuma to appear and comply with the summons and when he attends in compliance with the summons (a) not to leave without my permission. The court order to force Zuma to attend will also seek to ensure that the former president is obliged to comply with the regulations of the Commission that deliver sworn statements that expose his version of the testimony to respond to the 35 witnesses who have implicated him in various instances. state capture investigated by the Commission.
“This Commission is quite clear and those steps will be taken urgently,” Zondo said.
“His (Zuma’s) conduct may send a message to all the other witnesses who may not feel comfortable coming in and answering questions that it is the right thing to do for a witness subpoenaed to excuse themselves, (for) witnesses to come and go as they please. the Commission “.
If that happened, Zondo said, the Commission would collapse.
“Mr. Zuma’s decision to leave the Commission without permission is a serious matter: it has an impact on the integrity of the Commission, the rule of law and public responsibility. The matters that this Commission is investigating and for which it seeks to question him occurred when he was President of the Republic.
“The rule of law and public responsibility are fundamental values of our constitutional order and our Constitution promises that all are equal before the law. This is a principle of our Constitution (and of) a society built on the rule of law, ”said Zondo.
So far, Zondo has done everything it can to accommodate Zuma’s delays and the Commission has negotiated with the former president’s legal teams to postpone a subpoena scheduled for issuance in January 2020.
The commission, at least 26 times since August 2018, has invited Zuma, in writing, to provide his version of events and has written to him at least 16 times to find adequate time slots for him to present his testimony. He has been excused when he had to attend a separate corruption case, when he was ill, and last week (November 17), he was excused to attend a funeral on a testimony day. DM
