Inquiry urges Zuma to respond to claims
FORMER president Jacob Zuma has again been invited by the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture to respond to allegations against him that have emerged in evidence presented before it.
Commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo told Zuma’s lawyer Daniel Mantsha that he give his client’s version of evidence to be presented by former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan next month.
Hogan, who was fired by Zuma in 2010, was scheduled to present her testimony before the commission yesterday, but the sitting had to be postponed as her final statement only reached the inquiry’s legal team on Monday.
This meant that parties implicated in Hogan’s evidence, including Zuma, would not have the two weeks that Justice Zondo wanted to give them to respond and provide their version of events.
Mantsha complained that the commission had not been communicating with him since sending his office Hogan’s initial statement on August 24 and informing him that the Struggle veteran would be giving evidence on September 12.
He said he was only informed on Monday that Hogan was to give evidence yesterday.
”There is no reason why we should not have been informed about the witness’s statement and handed the statement,” Mantsha complained.
He further said that he was not being told whether Hogan’s latest statement was supplementary or a replacement of her original statement dated July 30, which he received on August 24.
Justice Zondo said the commission’s rules required a certain level of fairness.
But Thandi Norman, who was part of the commission’s legal team, said: “No version has been forthcoming from Mr Mantsha’s client; the initial statement is still valid.”
Norman added that Hogan’s second statement, which was more than 300 pages, went further than the original statement.
In August, Zuma’s advocate Muzi Sikhakhane said his client wanted all documents implicating him in order to prepare properly.
“What we have asked (for) are documents that we believe will make it easy for us to know what case we have to meet…” Sikhakhane said at the time.
While Justice Zondo granted the legal team’s application for Hogan and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan’s evidence to be postponed until next month, he said he would like the commission to finish its work within a reasonable time.
He said he hoped Gordhan would give evidence on November 15 but allowed him to apply for the date to change if there were exceptional circumstances.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane yesterday demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa voluntarily request to appear before the commission.
Ramaphosa was among a dozen ANC leaders that the official opposition wanted to give their full accounts of state capture at the hearing.
In response to Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota’s parliamentary question, Ramaphosa said if the commission asked him to appear before it he “will gladly oblige”.
“Any person, including members of cabinet and senior government employees, who may have information that would assist the commission in its work, is encouraged to make that information available to the commission and, if necessary, to give evidence,” he said.