Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma is trying at all costs to stall the release of Public Protector advocate Thuli Madonsela’s report into alleged state capture because he is panicking and trying to avoid being held accountable.
This was the reaction of political analysts on Thursday, after Zuma launched an urgent application in the high court in Pretoria for an interdict to prevent Madonsela from releasing her findings into allegations of state capture.
Madonsela said on Thursday night that she had, based on legal advice, decided not to release the report until the urgent interdict application was heard in court on Tuesday.
“Regarding the release of the report, we will hear the court on Tuesday. My team will have a media conference, chances are that we will not release the report,” said Madonsela, adding that the new public protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, would be in court on Tuesday, because her term ends on Friday.
However, she said she had signed off on the report, and nothing would change in terms of its contents even if the matter was in court.
Madonsela revealed that in addition to Zuma, Co-operative Governance Minister Des van Rooyen had also interdicted her. It also emerged on Thursday night that the president’s son, Edward Zuma, had entered the fray in his “personal capacity”.
In a strongly worded letter, he accused Madonsela of being a crony of the Western powers and part of the “remove Jacob Zuma project”.
“Thuli and her handlers are in a panic mood since it is clear that their long-term plan and mission is about to collapse,” Edward Zuma said.
“This to me amounts to abuse of power by Madonsela and (her) cronies, knowing that her recommendations are final as per the Constitutional Court ruling, hence she wants to tarnish the president’s name and leave office to the satisfaction of her masters, who are clearly behind all of this.”
On Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s ongoing battle with the National Prosecuting Authority, he said: “Pravin is a crybaby and a serial pretender who plays victim every time he has to subject himself to the country’s legitimate law enforcement agencies.
“Even a blind man can see that Pravin is being defended by President Zuma-haters who are naturally bitter and angry souls.”
Zuma’s bid to interdict the public protector’s report comes a day after the Supreme Court of Appeal said he must present oral arguments, through his lawyers, on the 783 corruption charges in court.
Last week, the Constitutional Court refused to hear an application by the NPA to appeal Zuma’s bid to overturn the Pretoria High Court’s ruling that the NPA must effectively recharge him.
Zuma has also had a mixed week after he returned from Kenya, with Madonsela first refusing to give him an audience on the evidence or to question ministers who gave evidence against him until he had answered all questions she sent him on March 22.
Earlier this week, the Guptas - the family at the centre of the state capture report - fired the first salvo when they said they reserved their right to review the findings of Madonsela as she was likely to make serious findings against them and Zuma.
Ajay Gupta said Madonsela wanted a parting shot against Zuma; that was why she wanted to release the report on her last day.
The Guptas said the investigation was not conducted in good faith after the public protector failed to interview the three Gupta brothers and did not give them some of the records.
Zuma’s frustration with Madonsela was apparent this week after he denied that he tried to force her to hand over the investigation and report to Mkhwebane.
Madonsela insisted that Zuma must respond to all the questions she sent to him in March. During the Nkandla investigation, Madonsela complained that Zuma had taken 14 months to respond to her questions.
Analysts agreed that Zuma was trying to hide his involvement in state capture by running to the courts to block the report. Wits University analyst Professor Susan Booysen said Zuma had from March this year failed to respond to Madonsela’s questions, but was now running to court.
“It’s obvious he is trying to hide something and to postpone the report, and do everything in the legal book to stop being held accountable,” she said. It was obvious Zuma was panicking and had decided to run to court.
Professor Dirk Kotze of Unisa said it was obvious Zuma did not want to account on the Guptas’ alleged influence on him and state capture.
“It’s clear that he wanted to avoid the report being published.”
The Star