Gauteng - The South Gauteng High Court has struck from the roll Democracy in Action’s (DIA’s) urgent application to stop Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo from handing over the state capture inquiry’s first report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The non-profit and civil society organisation had approached the high court in an urgent bid to halt the handover of the commission of inquiry into state capture’s first of three reports to Ramaphosa which is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Judge Avrielle Maier-Frawley undertook to provide reasons for her order no later than Monday, January 10.
She said she had hoped to provide reasons for such an order but was unable to conclude due to the exigency of the urgent court.
”The application instituted by the applicant is struck from the roll with costs for self-created urgency,” Judge Maier-Frawley ruled.
She further added that DIA had failed to adhere to the high court’s practice directives.
DIA wanted Justice Zondo to release the report to Deputy President David Mabuza, alternatively to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who will release it and act on its recommendations.
The organisation argued that Ramaphosa was implicated by several witnesses who gave evidence before the commission, including former Transnet and erstwhile Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe, who accused the president of abusing his position as his predecessor Jacob Zuma’s deputy to benefit mining giant Glencore.
However, during Tuesday’s hearing, Advocate Timothy Bruinders SC, representing Ramaphosa and Mabuza, argued for DIA’s application to be struck from the roll for lack of urgency.
Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, representing the commission, said the urgency was self-created and asked Judge Avrielle Maier-Frawley to strike the application from the roll with costs.
Ngcukaitobi argued that DIA’s application was reckless and frivolous.
In the DIA’s application, its chairperson, businessman Thabo Mtsweni, told the court that Ramaphosa was the head of the ANC’s deployment committee and played a role in the appointment of some of the leaders of state-owned enterprises accused of being central to state capture.
”The third respondent (Ramaphosa) was the leader of government business as a deputy president and on the inter-ministerial committee of Eskom war room, which is central to the state capture commission,” Mtsweni said.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za
Political Bureau