Ex-South African President Zuma challenges incumbent over appointment of chief justice

By Hassan Isilow

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has filed court papers seeking to set aside the appointment of the country’s Chief Justice Raymond Zondo whom he says was wrongly appointed by incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zuma said Ramaphosa “acted irrationally” and ignored the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which had reportedly declared Zondo “unsuitable for the position.”

Ramaphosa appointed Zondo in April. The JSC had recommended then Supreme Court of Appeal judge President Mandisa Maya for the position.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Jacob Zuma Foundation said it wants the court to call Ramaphosa to explain allegations that Zondo was “unduly rewarded” for absolving him in a corruption incident in the “State Capture” Commission Report.

Ramaphosa “must also explain why he overlooked a woman candidate when she had, in any event, received the highest votes. Such conduct is in breach of the equality clause, section 9 and 174(2) of the constitution both of which prohibit gender discrimination,” the Zuma Foundation said in a statement.

Ramaphosa would engage with Zuma "through the courts," local media quoted Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya as saying.

"It is clear that Mr Zuma will not tire in his abuse of the courts and in his obsessive harassment of President Ramaphosa," Magwenya was quoted by local news website News24

Zondo chaired the four-year-long “State Capture” commission probing allegations of widespread corruption during Zuma’s nearly a decade in office.

Zondo heard testimony from hundreds of witnesses detailing their account of events in how the state was captured by business and friends of Zuma – particularly the influential Gupta family – who allegedly took control of most state operations and finances.

Zuma, 80, faces several legal battles in the country. Thales, a French arms firm, and Zuma are jointly charged with 18 counts of corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, and racketeering in connection with a $2.5 billion arms deal in the late 1990s. They both deny any wrongdoing.

Charges against Zuma were dropped in 2009 by former National Prosecuting Authority head Mokotedi Mpshe weeks before he was elected president. The charges were, however, reinstated in 2018, marking one of the longest-running legal battles in the country.