Zuma and I have never socialised together, says Zondo

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has again distanced himself from former president Jacob Zuma, saying the two do not socialise and that they never have.

After a series of no-shows, Zuma – who has been heavily implicated in state capture – was last month eventually subpoenaed to appear before the Commision of Inquiry into State Capture.

However, whether he was actually going to pitch up – and if he did, if it would be in person or via video link – was not clear up until Monday morning.

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In the end, Zuma opted to appear in person and arrived at the commission with an entourage in tow, elbow bumping the likes of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association’s Carl Niehuas, who had come out to support the former president.

But Zuma has now launched an application for Zondo – who is chairing the commission – to recuse himself and Monday’s proceedings kicked off with that application being heard.

In his founding affidavit, Zuma had described his relationship with Zondo as a “relatively close” and “personal” one and pointed to the deputy chief justice’s relationship with one of Zuma’s sisters-in law – the two share a child.

Before the hearing got underway, Zondo read into the record a statement addressing Zuma’s claims.

“It is true that Mr Zuma and I have known each other from the early 1990s when I was still in private practice as a lawyer in Durban and Mr Zuma was one of the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said – adding, however, their interactions during this time were connected to Zondo’s work as an attorney and his association with the ANC.

Zondo said he could only recall two one-on-one meetings between himself and Zuma – one at a Durban hotel and another at the former president’s Forest Town home in Johannesburg – and that they were both more than 13 years ago.

“Our personal relationship has been a cordial and pleasant one over the years but did not generally involve discussions of serious matters,” Zondo said,

“Mr Zuma and I do not socialise and have never socialised together.”

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