#StateCapture: Court tells Zuma to appoint commission of inquiry

13.12.2017 14:13

Business Report

Johannesburg - The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria delivered another scathing judgment when it dismissed President Jacob Zuma's application to review former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's state of capture report.

Judge President Dunstan Mlambo delivered the unanimous judgment rejecting Zuma's bid to have the report that found widespread impropriety by his son Duduzane and friends, the controversial Gupta family and several bosses of state-owned entities and Cabinet.

"None of the grounds of review have any merit," Mlambo said.

Zuma was directed to appoint a commission of inquiry headed by a judge chosen by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng within 30 days.

He described Zuma's application a clear non-starter and that the president was ill-advised and reckless to pursue the review of Madonsela's report

According to Mlambo, the court case delayed the resolution of state capture allegations.

"In our view, there was no justifiable basis to ignore state capture and launch the review," he said.

The court also slapped Zuma with a personal costs order for the second time following an earlier similar order for his futile attempt to stop the release of Madonsela's report.

The court order must be delivered to Zuma and Mogoeng within five days.

Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela recommended that a commission of inquiry should be established by President Jacob Zuma, but said that the Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng should appoint the judge to chair it.

Zuma challenged this as he believes he,as the President, is mandated to pick the judge to chair the commission.

Earlier the court ruled that Zuma be personally held liable for the costs of his court bid to interdict the release of former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's State Capture report.

Delivering a unanimous judgment on behalf of a full bench of high court judges, Judge President Dunstan Mlambo said the stance adopted by Zuma in 2016 on the status of the report was "completely unreasonable".

Mlambo said there was no basis for Zuma's application to interdict the release of the report.

"The president's persistence to continue with the application [for an interdict against the public protector] amounts to abuse of judicial process," said Mlambo. "He is ordered to personally pay the costs."

IOL and ANA

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