Breaking: Jacob Zuma warned about looming State Capture appearance
- Former president Jacob Zuma was sent a letter by the Commission of Inquiry into the State Capture Secretary, Itumeleng Mosala
- Mosala stated that Zuma needs to comply with the summons he received and appear before the commission from 18 January
- Mosala also stated that Zuma's failure to comply with the aforementioned will constitute a criminal offence
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The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture issueda letter to former president Jacob Zuma about his appearance at the commission. Itumeleng Mosala, the commission's secretary, wrote that Zuma is obliged to comply with the summons about his court appearance.
Mosala continued to say that the summons on Zuma remains valid as it had not been withdrawn, suspended or set aside. Zuma's failure to comply with the summons will constitute a criminal offence, according to Mosala.
Zuma is expected to appear in court from 18 January to 22 January.
Source: Getty Images
An earlier report by IOL stated that Zuma's appearance could be delayed by at least a month to allow the Constitutional Court to rule on the commission’s application to force him to appear.
However, Mosala's letter stated that even if the court had not handed down a judgement, Zuma still needed to appear before the commission, as reported by News24. The report later states that it is unclear if and how the hearing could proceed without a judgement.
Take a look at some of the tweet responses to Zuma's appearance below:
@LLunga18 said:
"Even if he appears he wouldn't speak up. Waste of time."
@bonnymfene wrote:
"This commission has become a joke yooh. Such blatant desperation is so deplorable. If they have the powers to compel Zuma to appear before them, as they claim to suggest in this letter, why did they approach the ConCourt? They're so desperate 2 even undermine their own decisions."
@Dalla_s_ asked:
"Commission is above the constitutional court?"
@MwahafarN added:
"But the constitutional court hasn't ruled on their urgent bid. So technically this is illegal and harassment."
Briefly.co.za previously reported on the State Capture through a "year in review" post. Jacob Zuma was required to appear at the State Capture Inquiry at the beginning of 2020 but claimed that he could not be present because of poor health.
It was reported that the ex-president had sent his legal team to put forward that his health was preventing a return appearance to continue testifying. Zuma failed to appear at his hearings and this delayed the process by three weeks. The inquiry then decided to order a summons to the former president to secure his appearance.
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Source: Briefly News
