SUPPORTERS of Jacob Zuma are expected to stage a protest outside the State Capture Inquiry on Friday to call for the Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to recuse himself when the former president appears before the commission in November.
Zuma’s supporters, also known as the Gauteng RET President Zuma Support Group, see the commission as part of an agenda to target a faction of ANC leaders within the party who are pushing for radical economic transformation such as Zuma, ANC secretary general Ace Magashule and former North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo.
The march is seen as part of the ‘Fight Back Strategy’ by Zuma’s supporters who have previously called for an urgent National General Council to push for the removal of Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC President.
Plans were already underway to push for Ramaphosa’s removal before the national lockdown in March.
The so-called RET forces have accused Ramaphosa of failing to implement ANC’s 2017 conference resolutions, such as land expropriation without compensation and the nationalization of the South African Reserve Bank.
Zondo is expected to hear an application by the commission’s legal team for the authorisation of a subpoena against Zuma to appear before the commission from November 16 to 20.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation said on Thursday that his legal representatives received a notice by email at 7:30 pm on Monday regarding what they called a moot application.
The foundation said this was done at a late stage, and a few days before an already set date for the predetermined subpoena application
“The dates therein sought are the same date Chairperson Zondo has already publicly announced. Attached to the amended application is what is referred to as an Amended Notice of Application supported by a supplementary affidavit deposed to by one Itumeleng Mosala,” said the Jacob Zuma Foundation in a statement.
“We stated in our previous statement that the original application related to the time when President Zuma was abroad to seek medical treatment. Unfortunately, the Chairperson refused to believe that President Zuma was genuinely ill and sought to meet his doctor, an undertaking he has failed to meet. It is unprecedented for a Judge to appoint himself to go and meet Doctors to prove that indeed Former President was sick, he was not telling lies.”
The Zuma foundation said this new application was nothing but a ruse, whose outcome has been clearly predetermined.
“We hope the public can see this Commission and its Evidence leaders for what they are – a political process parading as a legal process. It is nothing but a bastardization of legal processes to achieve political ends for those who pull the strings from behind,” said the foundation.
The Zuma Support Group said in a statement on Thursday that the former president was targeted because of his proximity to RET leaders in the ANC.
“We are convinced that it is no coincidence that those who have been targeted are overwhelmingly proponents of Radical Economic Transformation (RET). It is common knowledge that President Zuma is the most prominent exponent of Radical Economic Transformation, and we maintain that he is being targeted so viciously and publically, exactly for that reason,” said the support group in a statement issued by Carl Niehaus.
“The shocking, and entirely inappropriate, media conference that Judge Zondo called on the 21st of September where he saw it fit to – for the third time – publicly address arrangements concerning President Zuma giving evidence before the Commission, is evidence of the selective and vindictive manner in which he targets President Zuma. No other person who had been called to appear before the Commission had been given similar disrespectful treatment.”
(COMPILED BY INSIDE POLITICS STAFF)
