POLICE Minister Bheki Cele has refused to arrest former president Jacob Zuma, who has been handed a 15-month jail term for contempt, until he has fully exhausted his legal challenges against the sentence, a document written by the State Attorney showed Tuesday.
Zuma was told to turn himself in by midnight on Sunday, failing which police would be instructed to arrest him within the following three days.
Zuma was order to be jailed for disobeying a court order to appear before the State Capture Inquiry currently investigating massive state corruption during his nine-year term in office.
The police minister and the national commissioner Khehla Sitole have written to the Constitutional Court, saying they will not enact the order pending the outcome of legal challenges to the Constitutional Court’s ruling of a 15-month sentence for Zuma, unless the court directs them otherwise.
The letter, authored by a state attorney representing police minister and police chief, said the pair would “out of respect of the unfolding litigation, hold their action” on the top court’s order”.
“The litigation steps taken by Mr Zuma are being processed and will be adjudicated upon by both the High Court and the Constitutional Court within and beyond the time limits our clients are expected to take action to deliver Mr Zuma to a correctional centre to commence serving the sentence,” said the three-page State Attorney letter.
“Our clients will, out of respect of the unfolding litigation the processes [sic], hold further actions they are expected to take in terms of the honourable court’s orders in abeyance pending the finalisation of the litigation, alternatively, pending any directions the Honourable Acting Chief Justice may possibly issue.”
Meanwhile, the Helen Suzman Foundation has written to the Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and the State Attorney, arguing that “it is not legally open to [the police minister and national commissioner]” to ignore the constitutional court order to arrest Zuma.
- Inside Politics
