Africa-Press – South-Africa. The judiciary will not be intimidated by anyone.
So said Chief Justice Raymond Zondo at the fifth annual Judiciary Report at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg on Friday.
The comment came after Zondo referred to the State Capture Inquiry, which he led, and how former president Jacob Zuma defied a court order to testify at the inquiry.
“When we look at the 2021 and 2022 financial year, we see that certain events occurred in our country which tested our Constitutional Court’s role as the upper guardian of our Constitution to the limit.
“I’m talking about the attacks that we saw directed at the judiciary in general and certain specific judges and various courts and, in particular, the justices of the Constitutional Court.”
He said most of those attacks followed Constitutional Court judgments in matters between the Zondo Commission and Zuma after the former president’s defiance of the court order to appear before the commission.
Zondo said:
“The Constitutional Court, as the upper guardian of the Constitution, rose to the occasion and held that his conduct had been unlawful and ordered him to testify before the commission and answer questions, except those that would legitimately be covered by the privilege against self-incrimination.
“The court held that as a witness in a commission, like everybody, Mr Zuma had no right to remain silent because that right belongs only to an accused in a criminal trial.
He said:
While Zuma said he had the right to remain silent, Zondo said this was “simply not true because as a witness, he never had such a right”.
The Constitutional Court found that Zuma was in contempt of court and sentenced him to 15 months’ imprisonment. Zuma’s imprisonment was followed by the July riots.
According to Zondo, the judiciary was threatened and intimidated. He said it became so bad that some members of the judiciary had to have protection.
“All this because the court had sought to play their role, provided for in the Constitution.”
He said the situation worsened at the beginning of January 2022 when Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu wrote an article in which she insulted the judiciary by saying it was a puppet of white masters.
Zondo said the judiciary would not be intimidated by anybody.
He said:
“This is the oath of office and the oath we have taken, and this is the oath of office we will always honour.”
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