AfriForum Joins Zuma Case as ‘Concession Violates Equality’
AfriForum’s legal team will be joining the court application – to be heard on 12 July – of former President Jacob Zuma as a ‘friend of the court’ (amicus curiae). In its announcement on Sunday afternoon, AfriForum said it will be joining in order to “demonstrate that the special treatment Mr Zuma is currently receiving […]
AfriForum’s legal team will be joining the court application – to be heard on 12 July – of former President Jacob Zuma as a ‘friend of the court’ (amicus curiae).
In its announcement on Sunday afternoon, AfriForum said it will be joining in order to “demonstrate that the special treatment Mr Zuma is currently receiving by the court is a violation of the principle that everyone should be treated as equal before the law”.
According to AfriForum, Zuma’s application to have his verdict of guilt set aside does not comply with rule 42 of the Uniform Court Rules, since his absence during his hearing was of his own doing. The organisation says it finds it “particularly strange” that the Constitutional Court has agreed to hear the case.
According to Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, an ordinary South African citizen would not have been able to receive the same treatment as Zuma before the courts. The organisation therefore believes it is in the interest of every ordinary citizen that AfriForum gets involved and takes a stand to protect the principle of equality before the law.
“While the Constitutional Court’s initial ruling against Zuma was widely applauded as a victory for the principle of equality before the law, the latest developments have caused serious damage to the credibility of the judiciary,” Kriel added.
Zuma’s son Edward has said that authorities will have to kill him first before he allows them to take his father to jail. At 79, and with a medical condition, one of Jacob Zuma’s arguments in his application to have the decision annulled is that the 15-month jail sentence “would put him at the highest risk of death” from the pandemic.
Zuma also called the sentence a “political statement of exemplary punishment”. He has maintained he is the victim of a political witch hunt.
DON’T MISS CARTE BLANCHE Tonight as the show unpacks how Jacob Zuma has reacted to his jail sentence, and what will happen next. Watch in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries on Showmax International from Tues 06 July if you’re abroad.