[ad_1]
Former President Jacob Zuma before the Zondo commission in 2019.
- The Zondo commission says it “has nothing to say” about a strong statement issued by former President Jacob Zuma.
- Zuma described the reported attempts to investigate his children’s bank accounts as “cowardice” and said they should not be involved in any investigation into him.
- The statement follows a Sunday Times report that the Zondo commission had cited at least 20 accounts linked to the Zuma family.
The Zondo commission has refused to participate in a battle with former President Jacob Zuma after he called the commission for including his children in his investigations.
In a statement released Friday, Zuma said it noted with concern a Sunday Times report alleging that the Zondo commission had directed its attention to its children’s bank accounts.
He reported that he had seen subpoenas related to at least 20 accounts linked to the Zuma family, including a television producer, which belongs to one of Zuma’s daughters, Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube, which produces the soap opera SABC1. Birth.
Zuma stated that he “drew the line” with anyone who targeted his children in investigations against him and that harassing them was a “declaration of war” in which he would fight with all his might.
Zuma appealed to the commission and law enforcement agencies to keep his children out of their investigations. He added that while he accepted that the commission was “desperate” to hold him accountable for his role in the alleged state capture, he condemned the attempts to attack his children through “clandestine investigations” in matters with which they had nothing to do.
He said it was disturbing that his children found out about the investigations when journalists called them the week before the story was published.
Zuma added that his sons were not in the government and should not be dragged into battles that were “designed to destroy it.” He said that if they were identified as part of an investigation, they should be notified in the same way as others involved and given the same rights.
However, the spokesman for the Zondo commission, the Rev. Mbuyiselo Stemela, would not be swayed by the scandal.
“The commission has nothing to say about the former president’s statement on the bank accounts of the latter’s children. If there is anything to say, it will be reported to the media,” he said Saturday.
