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For Sihle Mavuso 
8h ago
Durban – Former President Jacob Zuma responded to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry about the state capture and justified his decision not to appear before it even after the Constitutional Court ordered him to do so.
In a 12-page, 37-point statement issued Monday night, Zuma began by stating that he took this extraordinary step not to undermine the Constitution, but to vindicate it, in the face of what he considered “a few in the judiciary who have left their constitutional post for a long time to join the political battles. “
He added that his challenge is a political statement addressed to those who have used the law to unfairly punish him and persecute his family.
Zuma said the conduct of Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo on Monday strengthens his belief that he has always tried to harm him.
Earlier Monday after his no-show, Zondo indicated that the Commission would approach the Constitutional Court in an attempt to secure Zuma’s incarceration for his defiance of the subpoenas issued against him.
At the end of last month, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma had an obligation to appear before Judge Zondo and that his defiant behavior was a direct violation of the law.
Judge Zondo said the commission took Zuma’s snub seriously and that it could create chaos and anarchy if allowed to continue, adding that the commission would institute contempt of court proceedings and request jail time for him.
In what was called the “Final Statement on the Constitutional Court’s Decision,” Zuma said: “The Vice President of the Supreme Court concluded by saying that my contempt constituted grounds for him to approach the Constitutional Court to request judgment. Of course you will. I’m not sure this is normally how contempt proceedings would begin, but I have accepted that Supreme Court Vice President Zondo and due process and the law are separate.
“Now that it seems that my role in the commission has come to an end, I hope to face the sentence that the Constitutional Court will pass. Therefore, I stand by my statement of February 1, 2021 and no amount of intimidation or blackmail. I firmly believe that we should never allow the establishment of a judiciary in which justice, equity and due process are discretionary and are preserved exclusively for certain litigants and not for others, ”he argued.
To further justify his stance in the statement, Zuma claimed that he was not challenging the law, but was rebelling against certain judges who are corrupting and abusing the court for political reasons.
“It is not the authority of the Constitutional Court that I reject, but its abuse by a few judges. It is not our law that I challenge, but a few lawless judges who have left their constitutional office for political convenience. I respect the law and I have even subjected myself to their abuse for the past 20 years, “Zuma said.
Responding to his critics who have asked the state to reduce his presidential pension and other benefits such as bodyguards, high-end vehicles and state-paid servants, he said he was unfazed.
“Some have argued that if I do not appear before the Zondo Commission I should be jailed or stripped of presidential benefits or pension. Well for the record, I am the one who suggested that I don’t mind defending myself against the accompanying penalty. Second, it should naturally please you that if I do not defend myself before the appropriate contempt forum, I will face a prison sentence.
“The suggestion that he would seduce me with a pension and benefits to abandon my principled stance against what I see as partiality of a few in the judiciary can only come from people who believe that money can buy everything.”
Political Bureau
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