DA, Zuma wrestle over state capture

Opposition wants commission set up

President Jacob Zuma is ignoring former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s remedial action to establish a commission of inquiry into state capture willy-nilly and unlawfully.

This is what Anton Katz SC, for the DA, told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday.

The court heard the DA’s legal battle to force Zuma to establish a commission of inquiry headed by a judge appointed by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.

Zuma has filed a counter application opposing the opposition’s application.

In court papers, Zuma said it was unlawful for Madonsela to order him to establish a commission of inquiry and he cannot implement remedial action that is unlawful.

In a surprise move, public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane joined the DA in opposing Zuma’s application.

This happened the same day it emerged that Mkhwebane met Zuma before releasing the Bankorp report.

The DA is relying heavily on last year’s Constitutional Court ruling which found that Zuma failed to uphold and defend the constitution in relation to the security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.

Katz argued that Zuma has said he would establish a commission of inquiry but his difficulty is who chooses the judge. “Why does he have a problem with the chief justice appointing a judge? Does he not trust the chief justice?”

Katz argued that there was no difference between the public protector telling Zuma to pay back the Nkandla money and state capture.

During the proceedings, Ngwako Hamilton Maenetje SC, for Mkhwebane, told the court that Zuma was potentially conflicted in the case.

Ishmael Semenya SC, for Zuma, asked the court what will happen if the court orders the establishment of the commission of inquiry and the review application is successful. Semenya said Zuma cannot be told by Mkhwebane what to do. Judgment has been reserved.