State capture commission seeks to extend probe to year end

A judicial commission investigating corruption in South Africa has asked to extend its work until the end of the year.

The panel, led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, submitted an application to the High Court in Pretoria on December 20 for an order extending its lifespan from the end of February to December 31 this year, according to an emailed statement.

The commission’s inquiry has been running since August 2018. Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela ordered the probe into allegations that the Gupta family and others may have influenced cabinet appointments and government business. A lot of the alleged wrongdoing, know locally as state capture, happened during the almost nine-year tenure of former President Jacob Zuma.

The commission said last week that it was going to hear an application for an order authorising its acting secretary to issue a summons for Zuma before it again. This was postponed because Zuma filed an affidavit saying he would be too ill to testify.

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Source: moneyweb.co.za