High Court rules against DA in inquiry case

PRETORIA - The High Court in Pretoria has granted President Jacob Zuma a stay in immediately implementing a judicial commission of inquiry as recommended in the Public Protector's State of Capture report.

This is until his application for a review of that remedial action recommended by the report is heard in October.

"It’s not in the interest of justice to compel the president to implement the remedial action," Judge Motsamai Makume said yesterday..

He stated that it would be a waste of resources and court processes since the review application was set to be heard next month.

"(The) applicant has failed to demonstrate the prejudice or harm... (if the) president fails to establish the commission of inquiry as per the report released ten months ago.”

The DA and the Public Protector were ordered to pay costs of the application.

DA federal council chairperson James Selfe said after the ruling that the party would like the review application to be heard as soon as possible "so we can get to the bottom of what happened... and establish the commission of inquiry."

He said the DA did not technically lose the case as the judge ordered a stay on its application, which effectively meant that if the review was heard and dismissed, then the DA application automatically comes into effect.

In her report, then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela recommended that Zuma establish a commission of inquiry into state capture and that Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng choose a judge to preside over it.

Advocate Ishmael Semenya, for Zuma, previously argued in court that the public protector "does not enjoy the power under the Constitution of telling Zuma to establish an inquiry and (saying) that the Chief Justice will appoint the judge (for the inquiry)."