Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma’s application for leave to appeal the decision of the Gauteng High Court, in which he was ordered to hand over the record and reasons for his midnight reshuffle of the cabinet, will now be heard later this week.
The DA last week confirmed that the application was due to serve before Judge Bashir Vally on Monday, but it had to be moved due to the death over the weekend of the brother of one of the advocates appearing in the case.
“The case will now be heard on either Thursday or Friday, but we are hoping it will be Thursday,” the DA’s James Selfe said on Monday morning.
Zuma earlier served the DA with a notice of the application for leave to appeal against the order of Judge Vally, handed down earlier this month. The order required him to deliver the record of decision within a few days.
On the eve of the deadline lapsing, Zuma indicated that he would appeal the ruling.
Zuma has also filed a notice in terms of Rule 35(12) to request that the DA should provide him with the so-called “intelligence report” upon which he was said to have relied in recalling former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan from his investor roadshow in London, and ultimately firing him from cabinet four days later.
“The 'intelligence report' has been widely communicated on and addressed by senior members of President Zuma’s own government and party, including the Deputy President and the Speaker of the National Assembly, and it is, therefore, dumbfounding that he would require the DA to supply him with this report,” Selfe said in response.
In terms of Judge Vally’s order Zuma must also provide the DA with all the documents he used in coming to his decision to reshuffle his cabinet.
These include all electronic records, correspondence, contracts, memorandum, advice, recommendations, evaluations and reports on which he had relied.
These documents will have to include the so-called State intelligence report, if it was used.
The DA said it needed these documents to enable it to proceed with an application to overturn his decision to fire Gordhan and Jonas.