Former President Jacob Zuma is due to appear before a virtual session of the Constitutional Court on the 25th of March to hear the application by the State Capture Commission against him.
The application seeks to hold Zuma in contempt of court after he defied an order by the Apex Court to appear before the commission last month. Commission Chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is seeking a jail term for Zuma in the matter.
Zuma has until the 8th of March to file his replying affidavit. In November, he walked out of the commission’s proceedings after his bid to have Zondo recuse himself was denied.
ANC top six to meet Zuma soon
The African National Congress’s top six will soon meet with Zuma. This was confirmed by the party’s Secretary-General Ace Magashule in a briefing in Bloemfontein in February. Magashule said he’s certain the meeting with Zuma will go well.
He said the meeting is vital and should take place to allow for an engagement with the ANC leadership on the recent developments, which saw Zuma being visited by prominent people including Economic Freedom Fighter leader Julius Malema.
Police Minister Bheki Cele also visited the former president. Cele defended the visit saying it was necessary considering the current developments in the country. This after ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule said he neither knew in what capacity Cele visited Zuma nor what they discussed.
Zuma continues to refuse to appear before the State Capture Commission, saying that he will rather go to jail, unless Chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recuses himself.
ANCWL to also visit Zuma
Last week, the ANC Women’s League said it will visit Zuma at his Nkandla Homestead in KwaZulu- Natal, at a date to be announced soon. The league briefed the media at Luthuli house following a meeting of its executive committee on 21 and 22 February.
The League says the visit will be aimed at promoting unity within what it describes as the highly factionalised ANC.
President Ramaphosa on Zuma and State Capture matter
Zuma’s refusal to appear before the Zondo Commission has again pitted him with the current leadership of the ANC with President Cyril Ramaphosa cautiously reacting to Zuma’s attitude towards the commission.
President Ramaphosa speaks about the Zuma/State Capture issue:
President Cyril Ramaphosa, at the end of the ANC NEC last month, said: “He has expressed his own thoughts and views that he doesn’t want to go to the commission. But this is a matter that I am sure he is going to give much more thought to because he has been counselled by many organisations that the constitutional structure that he contributed so much time to needs to be given consideration and I am sure in his own mind and his own time he will think about all these. And I would like to say let’s give former President Zuma time and space to think about this also to hear what other people are saying. ”
