Former President Jacob Zuma was not only avoiding giving evidence before the state capture inquiry — he was “actively attacking the legitimacy and credibility of the commission, its chairperson and its work”.
This is according to commission secretary Itumeleng Mosala in an affidavit filed before the Constitutional Court.
The state capture inquiry on Thursday filed its urgent application to the Constitutional Court asking it to order former President Jacob Zuma to comply with new summons to appear and give evidence in January and February next year.
“This application has arisen because, though Mr Zuma attended the commission’s proceedings on the 16th, 17th and in the morning of 19 November 2020, he left the proceedings without the chairperson’s permission on 19 November 2020 ... in defiance of the summons issued to him,” said Mosala in the affidavit.
Mosala has also asked the highest court to order Zuma to answer any questions put to him — “subject to the privilege against self-incrimination, and may not rely on the right to remain silent,” said the notice of motion.
He also asks the Constitutional Court to declare that Zuma is constitutionally obliged to appear before it and to comply with any summons it has issued.
“I do not make this application lightly,” said Mosala.
He said that even though the Constitutional Court was ordinarily the court last to be approached, rather than first, “I believe that only this court can grant effective and adequate relief ... in the grave situation that has arisen”.
The application has been made on the basis that the highest court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear the case or, alternatively, on the basis that there are exceptional circumstances warranting approaching it directly.
Mosala said the urgent intervention of the highest court was required to “authoritively countermand the negative impact” of attacks by Zuma on the commission, its chairman and its work “and protect the integrity and legitimacy of the commission”.
Mosala’s affidavit details the efforts made — from as far back as September 13 2018 — by the commission to invite Zuma to respond to allegations against him and secure his attendance to give evidence — to respond to the evidence of more than 30 witnesses who had, or may have, implicated him in state capture.
“Mr Zuma’s failure or refusal to appear before the commission totalled no less than five weeks of scheduled hearing time. This is apart from the dates of 16 to 20 November 2020, which were also lost as a result of Mr Zuma’s belated application for recusal and his walkout of the commission’s proceedings,” said Mosala.
Also, it was clear that even though he had attended in November, as per his summons, “he never intended to give evidence,” he said.
Mosala referred to the statement made by the Jacob Zuma Foundation after his walkout from the hearing, which said, “President Zuma assures us that he would rather face jail time than allow himself to be bullied by an irregular, manipulated and unlawful process.”
Mosala said: “Mr Zuma is the founder and patron of the foundation. The foundation speaks in Mr Zuma’s name. Mr Zuma has not publicly countermanded the Jacob Zuma Foundation’s statement ... and so must be taken to have fully associated himself with the statements.”
The result was that he was now “actively attacking the legitimacy and credibility of the commission,” said Mosala.
Mosala’s affidavit said the former president had been validly summoned to once again appear on January 18-22 and February 15-19 next year. It has asked Zuma to respond to the application within five days.
