SOUTH Africans have witnessed a strong exchange between the State Capture Commission investigating corruption, the Constitutional Court and former president Jacob Zuma. Zuma, on whose watch the plunder allegedly took place, refused to comply with a summons from the commission.
The commission then applied to the court for a declaratory order that he was obliged by law to cooperate.
The court granted the order, condemning Zuma’s uncooperative behaviour. Zuma then issued a public statement that he would defy the court’s ruling. Finally, the commission responded to Zuma’s defiance, announcing it was pressing criminal charges against him.
While many have welcomed the commission’s sharp reaction, we need to ask whether it has gone far enough.
The Constitutional Court judgment was, in many respects, easily foreseeable. There could be no doubt that Zuma was subject to the constitution of the country, to the case law which upholds the validity of the commission,
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