By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@FelixDlangamandla.
The Constitutional Court will on July 12 hear former president Jacob Zuma’s urgent application to rescind its order sentencing him to jail for 15 months for contempt of court.
The Constitutional Court issued these directions on Saturday after Zuma made the application on Friday. It did not clarify his fate in the meantime because Zuma was initially supposed to hand himself over to authorities for his incarceration by Sunday.
The contempt order against Zuma was for failing to comply with the Constitutional Court’s order in January to appear at the state capture commission and give evidence as per the commission’s lawful summons.
On Friday, Zuma also urgently applied to the high court in Pietermaritzburg to stay the orders that required him to turn himself in by Sunday, and to interdict the police from arresting him pending his rescission application to the Constitutional Court.
Zuma has also distanced himself from statements released by his eponymous foundation in which attacks have been made against the judiciary, including a misogynistic swipe at Justice Sisi Khampepe.
The ConCourt, in a majority judgment, found Zuma guilty of contempt on Tuesday for disobeying its order that he appear before the State Capture Commission to answer allegations from scores of witnesses about his role in State Capture.
Zuma has until Sunday to hand himself over to police. Should he not, the SAPS will have three days in which to arrest him and take him to Durban’s Westville Correctional Facility. His application to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to have his arrest warrant stayed or interdicted is set down for Tuesday.
In his founding affidavit, Zuma did not miss the opportunity to again insinuate political conspiracy, claiming that one of the ConCourt judges in the majority judgment, Acting Justice Dhaya Pillay, “was conflicted”, having already ruled against him in his ongoing criminal trial, and claimed that Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan “my political enemy…responsible for the so-called Zuma Must Go movement” attempted to influence her appointment to higher office.
Zuma, who has deliberately failed to defend himself before the ConCourt and to appear before the commission while under summons, now states that he always wanted to appear before the commission, headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, but that the dates coincided with his medical examinations.
The Constitutional Court set out timelines for all parties in the matter, with all submissions expected to be in by the 9th.
Meanwhile, at Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla scores of his supporters continued to pour into the area to affirm their backing for him.
KwaZulu Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said Nkandla gatherings that are currently taking place in support of Zuma are a cause for concern.
Zikalala acquiesced to the fact that the Nkandla gatherings go against lockdown regulations and may pose a problem for the country’s ongoing third wave of Covid-19 infections.
Groups included the amaButho Zulu regiments, ANC members, uMkhonto WeSizwe Military Veterans Association members and ordinary members of the public.
This, while the African National Congress (ANC) attempts to make sense of the situation in a bid to try to avert the tension from spilling over threatening national security.