The High Court in Pretoria rejected the application by the ANC head of state, Jacob Zuma, on the previous Public Protector’s recommendations on state capture.
Judge Dunstan Mlambo said the application was reckless and poorly advised. He also said in his statement that it was a delay tactic. He also found that Zuma should be personally liable for the legal costs in the application to stop the state capture report.
The judge further found that Zuma was compromised by the report and “personal interest” in the outcome of the investigation. Furthermore, the report shows that Zuma is a central figure.
A judicial commission must now be established within 30 days and the chief judge, Mogoeng Mogoeng, has to appoint a judge who will lead the investigation. The assignment must then be completed within 180 days.
Zuma’s costs can reach an estimated R1.5 million, and it is already speculated that the Guptas can pay or advance it because they are central to the whole saga.
If Zuma does not appeal, he will have grace for another six months before appearing in the dock.
The radical ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal has in the meantime accused judges of using court rulings to try to influence who is elected at the ANC’s national conference, which begins at Nasrec in Johannesburg this weekend. The youth league says, “judges must stay away from ANC politics and keep up with legal issues.”
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
South Africa Today – South Africa News
