Former President Jacob Zuma has taken part in a virtual meeting with the ANC top six officials after an in-person meeting at Luthuli House in Joburg failed to materialise.
The meeting was called to discuss Zuma’s defiance of the Constitutional Court order compelling him to appear before the State Capture Commission.
The Commission has since asked the apex court to charge Zuma for contempt of court.
In a statement, ANC Spokesperson Pule Mabe says the party’s leadership and Zuma had very positive and constructive discussions.
Meeting between Jacob Zuma and ANC Top Six:
Zuma vs Zondo
Meanwhile, Zuma has missed the deadline to file answering affidavits to the Constitutional Court in his contempt of court case. The former President was given until the end of Monday to respond to the application by the State Capture Commission
The application also cited the Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole and the Police Minister Bheki Cele as respondents in the case. The application will be heard by the Constitutional Court on the 25th of this month.
Zuma has vowed not to appear before the Commission if Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo does not recuse himself. He said he believes that there is a level of bias against him and a lack of impartiality.
However, the Commission has rejected these claims and has lodged an application with the Constitutional Court, requesting that the former President be jailed for two years for defying an order of the Apex Court.
Experts label Jacob Zuma’s refusal to appear before the State Capture Commission a desperate and bizarre attempt to hide the truth:
In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa told editors that the top ANC leadership would meet with Zuma to discuss among others, his defiance of the Constitutional Court order that he appears before the State Capture Commission.
Zuma had said that he would rather go to jail than appear before the Commission.
President Ramaphosa said a high-powered ANC delegation would visit Zuma to convince him to cooperate with the commission. The President also said all allegations against the judiciary needed to be substantiated insisting that an attack on judges is an attack on the country’s supreme law.
Reaction to Zondo’s application to get Zuma arrested:
