Zuma in court over state capture report

President Jacob Zuma

President Jacob Zuma

Published Oct 24, 2017

Share

Johannesburg -  The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria will on Tuesday hear oral arguments on President Jacob Zuma’s application to review the former public protector’s State of Capture report.

Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela recommended that Zuma appoint a commission of inquiry headed by a judge. The Democratic Alliance (DA) approached the North Gauteng High Court to declare that Zuma had failed to comply with the Public Protector’s remedial action.

Zuma has taken Madonsela’s “State of Capture” report, which shed light notably on Eskom’s dealings with the Gupta family, on review because he differs with her directive that a commission of inquiry, headed by a judge appointed by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, be appointed to further probe the funnelling of state resources to politically connected businessmen.

Madonsela gave Zuma 30 days to appoint the commission of inquiry, and the DA has gone to court to force him to implement the remedial action. But the president argues that the Constitution gives him alone the right to appoint the head of a judicial commission of inquiry.

In June, Zuma responded to the DA’s court application with a counter application for a stay on implementing Madonsela’s report pending the outcome of the review, if necessary.

In his arguments for a review, he states that he was not compelled to comply with a report of the Public Protector if he had cause to doubt its correctness.

On September 29, the High Court in Pretoria ruled against the DA to compel Zuma to implement the remedial action proposed by the Public Protector calling for a commission of inquiry to be established to investigate allegations of state capture. 

Judge Motsamai Makume dismissed the DA’s application pending Zuma’s review of the remedial action which is set to take place on Tuesday. 

African News Agency

Related Topics: