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Former President Jacob Zuma before the Zondo Commission in 2019.
PHOTO: Felix Dlangamandla, Netwerk24
- The Zondo Investigation wants the Constitutional Court to order Zuma to serve two separate subpoenas to appear before Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo.
- Zuma missed the deadline to indicate whether he will fight the investigation case.
- The ConCourt has given Zuma until Monday to submit an answer.
The Constitutional Court agreed to hear the urgent legal request for the state’s capture investigation to compel former President Jacob Zuma to appear before Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo and answer questions, in a virtual hearing scheduled for December 29.
As of yet, it is unclear whether Zuma will fight the case brought up by the investigation, as he missed Thursday’s deadline for filing a notice that he intended to oppose the urgent request against him.
On Friday afternoon, the Constitutional Court gave Zuma until December 14 to present a response to the case presented by the State.
READ | Zondo files criminal charges against Jacob Zuma for flight from commission
Zuma’s attorney, Eric Mabuza, has not responded to requests for clarification on whether he chose not to oppose investigation efforts to force him to appear before the commission. His lawyer, Muzi Sikhakhane, has previously submitted that if Zuma were forced to appear in the investigation, he would choose to remain silent.
The investigation now wants an order from the Constitutional Court forcing the former president to serve two separate subpoenas to appear before Zondo: January 18-22 and February 15-19.
READ | Zondo Commission: Zuma concerned over narrative that ‘ruined our country’
The investigation seeks urgent and direct access to the highest court in the country, so that it can request an order that Zuma is “constitutionally obligated” to respond to the complaints that “refer to his alleged failure as president and head of the national executive to comply with his mandate “. constitutional obligations “.
He also wants the Constitutional Court to rule that “Zuma’s conduct in excusing himself and leaving the headquarters of the commission hearing on November 19, 2020, without the president’s permission, is illegal” and violated the Commissions Law.
Zuma dropped out of the investigation after Zondo rejected his application for his [Zondo’s] challenge.
Zuma’s lawyers have also indicated that they will challenge Zondo’s refusal to recuse himself, after the vice president of the Supreme Court rejected his claims that he could be perceived to have shown bias against Zuma.
Mabuza has not confirmed that this proposed legal challenge has, in fact, been filed.
