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Democratic Alliance MP Glynnis Breytenbach.
Nardus Engelbrecht, Gallo Images, dossier
- Former president Jacob Zuma should be arrested and prosecuted if he does not appear before the Zondo committee, DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said.
- Zuma made it clear that he was prepared to face jail time rather than appearing before the commission.
- DA leader John Steenhuisen said President Cyril Ramaphosa should appear before the Zondo commission to account not only on his role, but on his party.
DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said former President Jacob Zuma “never considered himself subject to the rule of law.”
Breytenbach was speaking on the party’s weekly webcast The indoor track, focusing on the explosive testimonies of the Zondo State Capture Commission of Inquiry.
She said the former president had “always been deeply uncomfortable living in a democratic state”.
“He never considered himself to be subject to the rules of law, so he always lived outside these rules and he demonstrated that even before becoming president, the fact that he already became president should raise the question.
READ | Zondo Commission denounces Zuma’s refusal to obey ConCourt’s order
She says:
“He used state resources to use Stalingrad’s approach, not to be held responsible for anything, criminally or otherwise. It’s always someone else’s fault, he’s always the victim of some sort of conspiracy, he’s never responsible, he never did anything wrong and again now he’s doing this . He did it with the arms business. ”
Following a Constitutional Court ruling in favor of the commission, the former president made it clear that he was prepared to face jail time rather than appearing before the commission to answer questions about his tenure.
On Monday, Zuma released a statement and claimed his contempt was motivated by the Constitutional Court’s ruling that he did not have a general “right to silence” in response to the hundreds of questions the inquiry wants to ask him.
He concluded that if Zuma had the right to protect himself from self-incrimination, he had to explain why his response could incriminate him in a specific crime to exercise it.
READ | ‘Hands off Zuma’ – Ace Magashule comes to ex-president’s defense against challenge to ConCourt’s order
Zuma had argued that the Supreme Court “had indeed ruled that, as an individual citizen, I could no longer hope that my basic constitutional rights would be protected and upheld by the country’s constitution.”
“I felt prompted to publicly express my solidarity with the feelings and concerns raised with me about a clearly politicized segment of the judiciary which now heralds an impending constitutional crisis in this country.”
He is due to appear before the commission on February 15.
Appear
Breytenbach said if Zuma does not appear before Associate Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, he should be arrested and prosecuted.
In a statement Tuesday evening, the committee said Zuma’s challenge showed that he considered himself “above the law and the Constitution.”
The commission secretary had been charged with opening criminal proceedings against Zuma for ignoring a summons and failing to appear last month.
Meanwhile, DA chief John Steenhuisen has said President Cyril Ramaphosa should also appear before the committee and be held accountable, not only for himself but for his party.
Steenhuisen said it was not “good enough” for the president to say he was “shocked” by some revelations.
“President Ramaphosa was for many years the Chairman of the ANC Executive Deployment Committee and was responsible for many of the people who have served on SOE boards.
He added that Ramaphosa worked with Zuma for many years, as his deputy, adding that as the leader of the ANC he had a duty to be accountable.
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