Jacob Zuma says he tried to protect inquiry
The former president says in court papers that former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s directives had to ‘honour constitution’
Former president Jacob Zuma says he challenged then public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report recommending an investigation into allegations that those close to him sought to capture the state not to protect himself but to safeguard the integrity of that very inquiry. In court documents that were filed last week, Zuma, who was found by the Constitutional Court in 2016 to have violated his duty to uphold and defend the constitution, said he was anxious that establishing an inquiry on Madonsela’s terms could have exposed him to acting unconstitutionally. "Such an important commission would have been tarnished with legal and constitutional uncertainties," he said. "It was therefore important for me to be sure that the public protector’s directives could pass constitutional muster — for the integrity of the commission of inquiry depended on the constitutional foundations." The Pretoria high court found in 2017 that Zuma acted recklessly and unreasonably when he challenged Madonsela’s or...
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