A legal expert and a leading academic have joined voices in defence of former South African president Jacob Zuma's defiance of demands that he testify for a third time at the the Zondo Commission into “state capture”.
South Africa's anti-Apartheid armed struggle veterans have vowed to defend former president Jacob Zuma from arrest over his refusal to testify at the inquiry into alleged corruption.
uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) spokesperson Carl Niehaus told The Citizen on Thursday a recent Constitutional Court ruling ordering Zuma to testify at the Zondo Commission into “state capture” was a “very serious erosion of his constitutional rights” to refuse to testify.
Zuma walked out of the commission of inquiry in November, after being called to testify for a second time, when presiding Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo dismissed the former president's motion for him to recuse himself from the proceedings. Zuma's legal team said the judge, appointed by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, was biased against him based on their previous personal associations.
A barrister, advocate Vuyani Ngalwana, and University of Zululand Vice-Chancellor Sipho Seepe also attacked the ruling compelling Zuma to answer questions.
Writing for The Star, Seepe said the Constitutional Court had put “the cart before the horse” in its “bizarre” judgement by pre-empting the outcome of Zuma's appeal to the High Court. He…
