Zuma defies court order, risks being jailed

The head of a South African judicial inquiry into state corruption said he would apply for former President Jacob Zuma to be held in contempt of court for ignoring a summons to testify, and for him to be jailed if he’s found guilty.

Ignoring a summons “is very serious because if it is allowed to prevail, there will be lawlessness and chaos in the courts,” Deputy Chief Judge Raymond Zondo said Monday after Zuma failed to appear at a hearing of the so-called state capture commission in Johannesburg. “The commission will approach the Constitutional Court and ask it to impose a term of imprisonment if it finds he is guilty of contempt.”

[BREAKING NEWS] Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo says the commission will ask the Constitutional Court to impose a term of imprisonment for Former President #JacobZuma if convicted of being in contempt of court.

For more on this watch #Newzroom405. pic.twitter.com/sEB9hUGFl4

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) February 15, 2021

Zuma’s refusal to attend the hearing is his latest attempt to subvert the authority of his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, whose efforts to stem graft have been undermined by a faction within the ruling African National Congress headed by officials aligned with the ex-president. While the authorities need to show commitment to upholding the rule of law, arresting Zuma risks widening rifts within the ANC and stoking unrest in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, where he retains strong support.

Zuma, 78, was scheduled to testify on Monday after the Constitutional Court ruled on Jan. 28 that he must appear before Zondo’s panel. Zuma said he’d had a close personal relationship with the judge, and filed a separate lawsuit seeking to force Zondo to recuse himself on the grounds that he was biased.

Zuma “is not entitled to refuse to appear before the commission,” Zondo said. “We should all be subject to the same rules.”

The government has estimated more than 500 billion rand ($34 billion) was stolen from state coffers during Zuma’s nine-year rule, and at least 40 witnesses who’ve appeared before Zondo over the past three years have implicated the ex-president in aiding and abetting the looting spree.

Zuma, who the ANC forced to quit in 2018 to stem a loss of electoral support, has denied wrongdoing and says the allegations against him are part of a smear campaign.

“The commission has now been deprived of the opportunity to question the former president,” Paul Pretorius, the head of the commission’s legal team, said at Monday’s hearing. “His evidence is obviously relevant to the commission’s work.”