Zuma still abroad, his lawyers say
Former president Jacob Zuma’s attorneys are adamant he will not attend the state of the nation address in parliament on Thursday as he is still receiving medical treatment abroad.
Former president Jacob Zuma’s attorneys are adamant that he will not attend the state of the nation address on Thursday evening, as he is still receiving medical treatment abroad.
This was after parliament “erroneously” tweeted on Wednesday that Zuma would attend President Cyril Ramaphosa’s fourth state of the nation address. Parliament later walked back the tweet it had sent from its verified Twitter account.
“We do not know how and where parliament obtained this incorrect information,” Zuma’s lawyer Lugisani Daniel Mantsha said in a statement.
“Our instructions remain that president Zuma is currently receiving medical treatment in a foreign country and will, therefore, not be attending.”
Zuma had previously said he was too ill to attend his criminal trial or to give testimony at the commission of inquiry into state capture.
Former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe will attend the state of the nation address, it was announced on the Twitter account.
Zuma’s attendance would be controversial as a warrant of arrest was issued by the high court when he did not appear for his corruption case last Tuesday.
The warrant was issued after the court had discussed an allegedly dubious sick note, and the judge ruled that Zuma’s legal team had not done enough to show why he had not arrived.
The warrant was stayed, meaning it will not be enforced until May 6 when Zuma is supposed to appear in court for the resumption of his trial.
The former president stands accused of receiving bribes from his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik in exchange for interventions and assistance in aid of Shaik’s business interests.
Zuma could also not appear at the commission of inquiry chaired by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo in January as a result of being ill.
OUR INSTRUCTIONS REMAIN THAT HE IS RECEIVING MEDICAL TREATMENT IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY AND WILL THEREFORE NOT BE ATTENDING