The African National Congress (ANC) leadership in KwaZulu-Natal believes former President Jacob Zuma’s refusal to appear before the State Capture Commission will have profound implications on the unity of the party.
The party met Zuma last week to discuss the issue.
Speaking to the SABC, party provincial secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli says the matter is unprecedented for the party in the province and it’s now seeking intervention from the president and national leaders.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal finds itself navigating uncharted waters as Zuma faces arrest should he defy the Constitutional Court ruling as he said he would.
The Constitutional Court instructed him to appear before the Zondo Commission. Party leaders in the province fear that divisions that already exist in the party could be widened.
Ntuli says, “So if he gets arrested, it is perfectly clear that society will be divided into two groups. There will be those who believe that his arrest is a test of justice, there will be those who will be convinced that he deserves to be arrested because he violated the decision of the highest court in the land. Now that might not be a difficult decision for him because he has been in prison in the past but the implication and the cohesion of the ANC, our concern is that sooner or later the arrest of the former president will soon be appropriated to the sitting president of the ANC or some of the leader s of the ANC and when that happens divisions in the ANC will run deep.”
‘Zuma unhappy about Justice Zondo’
Zuma told the ANC delegation that he believed his rights were violated. And that he was unhappy with the decision by Judge Raymond Zondo to hear the application for his recusal, as he strongly believed Zondo was conflicted.
Another concern, the Constitutional Court’s swift ruling forcing him to appear before the commission while his appeal against Zondo’s ruling was still pending.
“His first sense of discomfort is that when the matter was put before Justice Zondo, Justice Zondo decided that he is going to be the same person who is going to be a judge and a prosecutor on the matter. When a decision was taken by Justice Zondo, the former President decided to take the matter on a review to the High Court. Now before we could come to the conclusion on the matter, the commission decided to take the same matter to the ConCourt. Now the impression that is created on the part of Zuma is that Justice Zondo used his proximity to the ConCourt to get a preferred earlier date for the matter to be considered. A matter that was still within the High Court of South Africa.”
ANC KwaZulu-Natal’s Mdumiseni Ntuli speaks to SABC:
KZN seeks mother body’s intervention
The Zuma saga has also been discussed by the ANC’s provincial working committee. Ntuli says they have resolved to request the party’s national officials to intervene.
“We are also attempting to reach out to the national officials. I think the chair of the province either today or tomorrow will soon have a telephonic conversation with the President. So, we are very confident that the national leadership will be on our side on this matter. We are not going to them to say no JZ must not go to the commission, this commission is wrong we are not there, but we are saying how do we deal with the current conflict. The concerns raised by former president Zuma, many of which are very legitimate. I mean if you take a matter on a review, and while you are waiting for the outcome of the review, a different court takes a different conclusion. What if a review tomorrow comes out on your side.”
Meanwhile, Zuma supporters are organising support for the former President in branches and other organs of the ANC.
The uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association is expected to visit Zuma at his Nkandla homestead on Thursday.
But for party leaders, the clock is ticking as the former President has been summoned to appear before the Commission on Monday.
