ConCourt set to rule on Zuma’s application to rescind contempt conviction

Back in July, former president Jacob Zuma filed an urgent application with the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) for the rescission of his contempt conviction and 15 months imprisonment.

Now, the ConCourt will rule on his application on Friday, where it will either set aside his contempt of court conviction or uphold it.

The application was filed in terms of rule 42 of the Uniform Rules of Court, read with rule 29 of the ConCourt, which states that a court may vary or rescind a ruling granted in the absence of the affected party.

ALSO READ: Zuma foundation mum on discharge date, as hospital bill piles up

Shortly before handing himself over to the authorities, Zuma admitted he was wrong to think that he could not be forced to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

He said the legal path he had taken was due to the legal advice he had received, and that he was ill-advised to follow it. 

“I now fully accept that the most legally appropriate route which I could and should have taken, would have been to apply for interim relief to interdict my appearance before the commission,” Zuma said in in his rescission court papers.

He argued that financial hardship also played a role in the legal decisions he made at the time.

“My focus for not engaging the application of commission to the Constitutional Court was based largely on the lack of finance to engage lawyers to focus on the urgency basis and in terms demanded by the commission and accepted by the Constitutional Court.

“For obvious reasons, my criminal trial is a priority.”

ALSO READ: Opposition to Zuma’s medical parole gathers pace

In his application, Zuma asked the court to consider giving him an opportunity to plead as to whether direct imprisonment was an appropriate sanction – should his rescission application be dismissed.

The former president was only in prison for several weeks and is currently out on medical parole after undergoing surgery at a private hospital.