Pretoria: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is poised to testify against his former counterpart Jacob in the ongoing case against state capture that is slated to resume on August 11. “On August 11 and 12, the president will first complete his evidence relating to the ANC in his capacity as the current president and former deputy president of the party, and thereafter give evidence and be questioned in his capacity as the current president and former deputy president of the country,” said commission secretary Prof Itumeleng Mosala.
Ramaphosa is expected to testify as the former Deputy President and also as the current leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). According to the statement by the commission, Ramaphosa will testify on matters relating to his tenure as the Deputy President.
"The President will first complete his evidence relating to the ANC in his capacity as the current president and former deputy president, and thereafter give evidence and be questioned in his capacity as the current President and former Deputy President of the country," said the commission.
This will be the second time Ramaphosa is appearing before the commission after he first appeared in April this year. During his first appearance, Ramaphosa said members of the ANC had engaged in acts of state capture and corruption for a number of years. The 79-year-old faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering related to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and equipment from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.
Zuma to be allowed out of prison
Meanwhile, Zuma will be allowed out of the prison to appear in person before the commission of inquiry at a Pietermaritzburg court. In the order, Judge Piet Koen said the hearing will be conducted “in open court at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg”. Zuma’s lawyers were adamant about his personal presence at the hearing. After hearing the arguments, the judge changed his earlier ruling that the inquiry could be done virtually since no evidence was to be presented. Later the judge relented and allowed Zuma to be taken the High Court in Pietermaritzburg for the hearing.
Zuma is currently serving a 15-month sentence for defying an order from the Constitutional Court, the country's highest court, that he should testify at the commission of inquiry probing allegations of corruption during his term as president from 2009 to 2018. The start of Zuma's imprisonment on July 8 sparked off protests which quickly escalated into violent riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces that lasted a week. The death toll in the unrest has risen to 337, and police are investigating 213 of those for murder, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, acting minister in the presidency, said.
