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By African News Agency 
8h ago
CAPE TOWN – The General Council of the South African Bar Association has lambasted the JG Zuma Foundation for accusing renowned senior attorney Tembeka Ngcukaitobi of “irregularly assisting” the Zondo commission to take legal action against the former president for refusing to testify before her.
In a roughly worded statement, the bar council said the foundation had launched a cynical attack on the rule of law itself, while the man it sought to defend had made it clear that he would rather go to jail than obey a subpoena. .
“There is no court order for unfounded and unrestricted extracurricular attacks against the commission or its staff, or the legal advisers involved in its proceedings,” the counsel said.
“Since the JG Zuma Foundation has also not identified any other legitimate basis that could lead to these conclusions, the GCB condemns them as a dangerous, unjustified and cynical attack on the rule of law.”
The statement came nearly a week after the foundation issued a statement, the day Zuma and his legal adviser left the commission, suggesting that a consultation between Ngcukaitobi and Zondo in the judge’s office had been inappropriate.
He said the renowned lawyer, who often represents economic freedom fighters, had been “irregularly assisting” the commission while “plotting” the proceedings against Zuma.
This was the day Zondo dismissed a request for disqualification argued by Zuma defender Muzi Sikhakhane.
Sikhakhane stopped short of accusing the vice president of the bias judge, but suggested that he had presided over witnesses who implicated the former president rather than listen to the impassive evidence. This had contributed to Zuma’s fears that appearing before the commission would be like walking into “a slaughterhouse.”
Zondo later announced that he would deal with Zuma’s challenge by issuing a new subpoena, filing criminal charges, and seeking an urgent order from the Constitutional Court to force the former president to honor the subpoena.
If successful, this would mean that Zuma would face arrest for contempt of court if he does not honor the new subpoena.
Ngcukaitobi has been briefed by the commission’s secretariat to draft documents and handle the court request on behalf of the commission.
He could not be reached Thursday for comment, but there have been reports that he has been harassed online since accepting the report.
The bar council said the foundation’s attack on a member of the legal profession was all the more reprehensible given the former president’s attitude toward his legal obligations.
These comments are especially worthy of censure in circumstances in which the statement itself indicates that Mr. Zuma is prepared to ‘face jail’ and, therefore, evidently acknowledges that his conduct in failing to comply with the summons and the instructions of the commission exposes him to prosecution and imprisonment. “
– African News Agency (ANA); Edited by Yaron Blecher
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