Zondo must recuse himself, Zuma demands

Just days before former president Jacob Zuma, pictured, is due to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, he has filed a formal application for chair Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to recuse himself.

The application comes after an exchange between the commission’s secretary, Itumeleng Mosala, and Zuma’s att orney, Eric Mabuza. Mosala on Wednesday cautioned Mabuza to advise whether his client would adhere to the summons to appear before the commission on Monday.

Aft er Mosala sent a lett er requesting confi rmation that the former president would indeed adhere to the summons, Mabuza retaliated, slamming the tone of the lett er while accusing the commission of “bullying” Zuma.

While it took Zuma’s legal team five weeks to lodge the application since they indicated possible bias from Zondo in October, Mosala warned Mabuza that this application was not a valid reason for Zuma to not comply with the summons.

The commission’s spokesperson, Mbuyiselo Stemela, declined to comment.

According to legal expert Ulrich Roux, this was yet another delaying tactic by Zuma in an attempt to evade the summons.

“He [Zuma] has apparently submitt ed the application to recuse Zondo. That is just to stall the summons.

“One must look at the grounds due to the personal relationship going back. If he can show any bias against him by Zondo – that he won’t make an objective decision – then yes, there is merit to it,” Roux said.

Should Zuma continue to evade appearing before Zondo, the commission has the right to institute a warrant of arrest, Roux said.

“The commission has the powers to apply for a warrant of arrest for him to appear before them. That can happen.”

According to legal expert Ulrich Roux, this was yet another delaying tactic by Zuma in an attempt to evade the summons.