POLL | What is your reaction to Zuma's defiance of the Zondo commission?

Former president Jacob Zuma was a no-show at the Zondo commission on Monday, leaving many calling for him to be held accountable for defying a Constitutional Court ruling.

The state capture inquiry on Sunday issued a statement saying it was ready to hear from the former president from February 15-19. Two weeks ago, the Constitutional Court ordered Zuma to appear before the commission and ruled that he would not enjoy the right to remain silent.

Zuma's lawyer released a statement before the commission was due to start its proceedings at 10am on Monday, saying the former president would not appear before the commission.

The letter cited historical and personal relations between Zuma and Zondo.

Zondo condemned Zuma's actions and criticised him for promoting lawlessness.

“The commission will make an application to the Constitutional Court and seek an order that Mr Zuma is guilty of contempt of court, and if the Constitutional Court reaches that conclusion then it is in its discretion what to do.

“One of the things would be to impose a term of imprisonment on Mr Zuma and another would be to impose a fine. The commission will ask the Constitutional Court to impose a term of imprisonment if it finds Mr Zuma guilty of contempt court,” said Zondo.

Zuma issued another scathing statement on Monday night in which he reiterated his position.

“No amount of intimidation or blackmail will change my position as I firmly believe that we should never allow for the establishment of a judiciary in which justice, fairness and due process are discretionary and are exclusively preserved for certain litigants and not others,” he said.

On the establishment of the commission, he said it was “conceptualised as part of the campaign and sponsored multisectoral collaboration to remove me from office”.