Former President, Jacob Zuma.
Photo: State Capture Inquiry
Zuma supporters to protest outside of Constitutional Court
Former president Jacob Zuma might find himself behind bars for not complying with a Constitutional Court order, compelling him to appear at the State Capture Commission
Former President, Jacob Zuma.
Photo: State Capture Inquiry
Supporters of former president Jacob Zuma are expected to lead a picket outside the Constitutional Court on Thursday, March 25, 2021. This will be ahead of the apex court hearing an application by the State Capture Commission to have Zuma sentenced to jail for refusing to comply with the same court’s order.
In January, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma is obligated to appear before the commission, which is chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Zuma had been scheduled to appear for a total of 10 days in January and February, however the former president said he would not take the stand. He claimed the summons issued for him was irregular because he was awaiting a high court’s decision to review Zondo’s refusal to recuse himself from proceedings.
Like Zuma, many of his supporters are less than pleased with the State Capture Commission and claim he is the victim of a witch-hunt and have vowed to defend Zuma to the end.
The former president has been implicated by at least 34 witnesses, who’ve testified to the extent of grand looting at state entities like Eskom, South African Airways (SAA) and Prasa, to name but a few.
Former president Jacob Zuma hasn’t filed opposing papers with the Constitutional Court, so at this point only the commission’s arguments will be heard.
Carl Niehaus to Jacob Zuma’s defence
Umkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) spokesperson and fierce Zuma loyalist Carl Niehaus said the State Capture Commission prematurely approached the highest court in the land.
“What we should be concerned about is that the Zondo Commission rushed to the Constitutional Court, demanding a two-year-long sentence, which in terms of the commissions act, is not even a viable option…the 1947 commissions act doesn’t provide for a sentence of two years”
MKMVA spokesperson Carl Niehaus
Zuma has indicated on several occasions, that he is not afraid of spending time behind bars, should that actually happen.
“I do not fear being arrested, I do not fear being convicted, nor do I fear being incarcerated. I joined the struggle against the racist apartheid government and the unjust oppression of black people by whites in the country at a very young age,” he once said in one of his previous statements hitting out at the commission.
