Acting Chief Justice Judge Zondo says he takes consolation – despite the Constitutional Court’s criticism of him – that he managed to maintain the credibility of the State Capture Inquiry.
Zondo was answering questions regarding the Commission’s fallout with former President Jacob Zuma.
Zondo was slammed by the apex court for being too soft in his approach with Zuma in its judgment in January 2021.
It nevertheless compelled Zuma to co-operate with the Commission and attend its proceedings.
Reaction to Justice Zondo’s interview so far:
“I can live with the fact that the court critisised me for the way in which I handled him, but I am happy about the fact that it never said I treated him unfairly. Certainly, I don’t think it thought I treated him unfairly. I think if I handled the situation in such a way where he had gone to court and it found that I treated him unfairly I think it would have been bad for the commission.”
Zondo has also explained to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) a number of complaints lodged against his nomination for the Chief Justice position.
These include one by former Director General of the State Security Agency Arthur Fraser, who contends that Zondo is unfit for the top position because he failed to give him an opportunity to give his version of events at the State Capture Inquiry.
Fraser had been implicated by a number of witnesses as having abused secret service funds and engaged in illegal covert operations.
The former intelligence boss says Zondo sought to muzzle his evidence, which would have implicated sitting and former state presidents amongst other high profile individuals.
Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo Part 2:
