Johannesburg - The national task team of the ANC Youth League has slammed Judge Dhaya Pillay for rejecting a sick note presented by former President Jacob Zuma to prove that he is sick, hence unable to come to court.
Joining the fray on Wednesday, the league issued a long statement and said the warrant is a “continuous vilification” of Zuma.
Zuma was required to appear before the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday as part of the court hearing regarding his alleged Arms Deal corruption where he is accused of pocketing bribes from French arms manufacturer, Thales. The company allegedly channeled the bribes via Schabir Shaik, a convict who was once enlisted as Zuma’s financial advisor.
Taking on Judge Pillay, the task team’s convener, Tandi Mahambehla and Sibongile Besani, the task team's coordinator, they said for over a decade, the State has failed to prove that Zuma is guilty of any crime.
“Refusal of a sick note by Cde (comrade) Zuma is proof enough that there is a mission to destroy what is left of him and his dignity,” reads the statement.
Furthermore, they then turned their attention to FW De Klerk, the last apartheid president and said he was being afforded better treatment than Zuma despite that the former had “brutalised our people.” They added that warrant of arrest is meant to shift the attention of the people from the ongoing country’s economic woes.
“The people who should be focusing on reviving our economy and fixing what is wrong are focused on tactics to vilify and victimise Zuma. When our courts who are meant to protect us and our human rights are the ones that vilify our people, even at their weakest state of health, it’s rather sickening.”
The mother body of the league, the ANC has also joined the fray. In a statement also issued on Wednesday, the party said in keeping with its principle of upholding and defending the independence of the judiciary, it respects the decision of the Pietermaritzburg high court.
“Former president Jacob Zuma is a law-abiding citizen who has consistently respected the courts and submitted himself to judicial processes regardless of his stature. He has always co-operated with law-enforcement agencies whenever asked to do so. The ANC appeals to members of the public to exercise patience and allow former president Jacob Zuma and the courts to deal with the matter when it resumes again on the 6th of May 2020,” the party said in the statement.