Former president Jacob Zuma was expected to hear today if his recusal application succeeded or not at the Zondo Commission.
However, Judge Ray Zondo has asked for another extension and the application will be heard tomorrow. Zuma has also submitted an affidavit to
Earlier this week Zuma’s legal counsel Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane of Mabuza Attorneys fiercely argued why Judge Ray Zondo should not continue in his capacity as chairperson. Among the reasons cited by Sikhakhane are a personal bias as the two have a shared personal and professional history, a set of witnesses allegedly disgruntled as they were axed from Zuma’s Cabinet at one point and a political conspiracy theory to sink Zuma for state capture.
Adv Paul Pretorius acknowledged that Zuma was correct in filing an application, should he feel biased, however he shot down his argument that Zondo would not be impartial. Pretorius could find no concrete reason for a lack of impartiality as Zondo’s reputation and career history was credible on its own, showing no interference from political organisations.
Speaking at the commission earlier this week, Zondo said he needed more time to decide on the application.
“I am not going to give judgement because I am still working on it. I have quite some documentation to go through. We will adjourn and meet tomorrow at 10 am. By then I hope I will give a ruling. If for some reason I am not ready at 10, communication will be sent to all concerned. I have already communicated this to counsel on both sides so they are aware of it,” said Zondo.
In response, Sikhakhane said Zuma would not be in attendance on Wednesday as he had a funeral to attend. If Zondo does not recuse himself, he would have to attend the commission on Thursday. A statement by the Deputy Chief Justice clarified comments by Zuma the two were close. According to Zondo, he had never socialised with Zuma nor had he invite him to attend functions at his Johannesburg home.
“We looked at the statement that you read, we’ve consulted with our client and our instruction is to put on record our statement which may or may not dispute your statement. He requests that he has an emergency, it is not any disrespect, he has a funeral to attend. We will communicate the situation as he is going for a funeral,” said Sikhakhane.
Updates to follow.
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