“He ignores process and jurisdictions as prescribed in law, just to ensure that the Zuma state capture commission of inquiry finds (former) president Zuma guilty by hook or crook to deliver him to some hidden masters.“
AS THE stand-off between the Zondo commission and former president Jacob Zuma takes another nasty turn, the Jacob Zuma Foundation alleges that the commission’s chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, is bending the laws to pursue his personal agenda.
According to the foundation, asking the Constitutional Court to jail the former head of state for two years instead of the stipulated six months is meant to come up with punishments only reserved for Zuma – and allegedly, Zondo is the chief architect of this nefarious move.
The statement issued on Monday, was in response to the commission’s request to the Constitutional Court to jail Zuma for defying two summons issued on January and February.
Zuma’s refusal was sparked by what he called unfair treatment by the commission and in a statement issued on February 1 the former president said he was prepared to do jail time instead of appearing before Zondo who he wanted to recuse himself, citing bad blood between them.
“This desperation of Deputy Chief Justice Zondo, abusing his position as the second in charge in the Constitutional Court, instructing his subordinates to bend the laws of the country, is unprecedented. He ignores process and jurisdictions as prescribed in law, just to ensure that the Zuma state capture commission of inquiry finds (former) president Zuma guilty by hook or crook to deliver him to some hidden masters.
“The 1947 act talks about six months imprisonment, or a £55 fine, not the two years’ imprisonment that the honourable judge who is chairing the commission alone, suggests,” the foundation said.
The foundation repeated allegations made by Zuma on February 1 that Zondo is treating the former president in the way the apartheid government treated former PAC leader Robert Sobukwe.
Sobukwe, who led the PAC when it broke away from the ANC in 1959, was considered by the apartheid government as a dangerous hardliner and it created harsh laws just to contain him. One of such law was jailing him in solitary confinement at Robben Island.
“The master has directed, it is clear that laws are being changed to deal with (former) president Zuma, like how the apartheid government created Sobukwe laws to deal with Sobukwe. Indeed, it sounds like an old apartheid regime in the hands of the black leaders in the democratic South Africa.”
The court is yet to rule on the request by the commission while the ANC top six has arranged to meet with Zuma in a desperate bid to convince him to change his mind amid the threat of violence as MK veterans guard his Nkandla home.
– Political Bureau
