LIVE FEED: State Capture Inquiry – October 9, 2020
|Published
Former president Jacob Zuma. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
Johannesburg – The Zondo commission's legal team will on Friday morning make arguments before Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on why they believe former president Jacob Zuma should be summoned to appear before the inquiry.
Zondo issued the directive in hearing the arguments in September when Zuma was scheduled to appear at the inquiry.
Zuma did not appear and instead sent a letter to the commission expressing his inability to appear, but he indicated that he would like to negotiate new dates for his appearance.
This request was rejected by Zondo who said the inquiry did not negotiate with witnesses on dates. The former president is now scheduled to appear between November 16 and 20.
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It remains unclear whether Zuma's lawyers will appear at the inquiry this morning to argue against the subpoena.
The former president first made an appearance at the inquiry in July 2019.
He claimed he had always faced a political campaign to smear his name.
Since that first appearance, the former president has avoided another appearance at the inquiry since November last year.
He has cited ill health as the reason he was unable to wrap up his testimony.
Zuma has yet to file an affidavit to the inquiry.
The DCJ has also issued the former president with a directive to file affidavits in response to testimony that he has been directly implicated in.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation has publicly complained about what it claims is unfair treatment from the Zondo commission.
The latest complaint is that the commission's secretariat sent an amended subpoena application late to Zuma's lawyers, which did not give them adequate time to argue the case, the foundation claims.