Zuma accused of seeking revenge to have Zondo removed as Chief Justice

Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) executive director, Lawson Naidoo has said former President Jacob Zuma’s court notice to review and set aside the appointment of Judge Raymond Zondo is allegedly part of a “political legal strategy to seek revenge against Zondo”.

Zuma has filed a court notice to oppose the appointment of Zondo as the country’s chief justice.

Zuma said President Cyril Ramaphosa acted irrationally in ignoring the advice of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and appointed Zondo despite being effectively declared as unsuitable for the position and the poor showing he made at the public interviews.

No love lost

Lawson told The Citizen there was “no love lost” between Zuma and Zondo.

“This is given the experience at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry when he walked out and was then found to be in contempt of the Commission and sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

“So it’s hardly surprising that the former President would be seeking revenge in some way or even clearly has all the hallmarks of litigation strategy that is premised on extracting some form of revenge,” Naidoo said.

ALSO READ: Zuma asks court to set aside Zondo’s appointment as Chief Justice

No point to make

Naidoo said he did not think Zuma really had a point to make.

“I think if we start with the Constitution, [it] clearly says the President [can] appoint the Chief Justice, after consulting with the Judicial Service Commission and leaders of political parties represented in the National Assembly.

“So it’s quite clear the president’s prerogative is to do so. And Mr Zuma knows this very well, because in the previous occasion when we appointed the Chief Justice, he gave one name to the Judicial Service Commission – that of Mogoeng Mogoeng. They interviewed one candidate, back then in 2011 and Jacob Zuma then appointed Mogoeng as chief justice,” Naidoo added.

Appointing Zondo

Naidoo said Rampahosa used a different approach to appoint Zondo.  

“He initially appointed a panel that was led by Judge Navi Pillay to advise him on suitable candidates and they issued a public call for nomination. I think they received eight, one of whom withdrew, and the President received those names and four names were submitted to the JSC, who interviewed the four candidates.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Zuma claimed Justice Judge Mandisa Maya got the highest votes. However, Naidoo said he was not aware of this.

“I’m not aware if that information has been shared publicly. And in any case, the President is not bound by the choice of the JSC. The President clearly has the prerogative to choose. None of the four candidates were deemed to be not appointable.

“And the President would then, having received those names from the JSC, have consulted political parties in the National Assembly. And that was, obviously, sufficient consensus to appoint Raymond Zondo as Chief Justice,” Naidoo said.

Ramaphosa opposes Zuma

Spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Manyi said Ramaphosa had filed a notice to oppose Zuma’s application while the JSC filed one to abide by the eventual court decision.

Manyi said the next step in the process would be the compulsory provision, by the JSC and Ramaphosa, of the record of the proceedings and deliberations pertaining to the JSC’s recommendations and Ramaphosa’s decision.

ALSO READ: Zuma Foundation demands Ramaphosa removes Zondo as Chief Justice