Mabuza Slams Zondo Inquiry For Disdain' Towards Zuma

Att: Ms KB Shabalala 1st Floor
Acting Secretary: Commission of Inquiry into State Capture 83 Central Street

Houghton
Hillside House, 3rd Floor 2198
17 Empire Road PO Box 55045
Northlands 2116
Parktown Tel: +27 11 483-2387/483-0476
Fax: +27 11 728 - 0145
Direct e-mail: eric@mabuzas.co.za
Email: BrigitteS@commissionsc.org.za
Your Ref: Farrhan Khan
Our Ref: Mr ET Mabuza
Date: Tuesday, September 01, 2020
Dear Madam,
Appearance by President JG Zuma before the Commission
1. We act on behalf of former President JG Zuma (“President Zuma”), and refer to

your letters dated 10 and 18 August 2020 respectively.
2. At the outset, we wish to put it on record that we have just been recently appointed
by President Zuma to assist him in respect of the Commission. At this stage, we still
need to familiarize ourselves with all the documentation with which President Zuma
was served dating back to when the Commission started. We assure the
Commission that we are working hard at this and intend to fully engage counsel
about President Zuma’s previous appearance at the Commission as well as the
totality of the evidence to which he is asked to respond. We also intend engaging
counsel about their availability going forward, given the fact that they have been
briefed to prepare for the trial and other pending matters involving President Zuma.
3. We noted from the Commission’s letter that rather than engage us, it has relied on
the media to determine when President Zuma should appear at the Commission.
We are of the view that the availability of President Zuma could easily have been
discussed or verified with us before the Commission made its own (incorrect)
Eric T Mabuza B.Proc (Unin) LLB (Wits) Senior Associates Rudolph N Baloyi LLB (UL) Zondiwe Longwe LLB (Wits) Thomas Sibuyi LLB (UNISA)
Mzuphela GM Yeko B.Proc (UNITRA)

Page 2
assumptions about his availability or our own readiness as the new attorneys in the
matter.
4. We note that the Commission has finally given formal notice of its intention to
proceed with the application to compel President Zuma to appear. It should follow
that we must await the outcome of that application before we can discuss the
possible appearance of President Zuma at the Commission. We trust that the
Commission will engage with us regarding the dates for the hearing of the
application.
5. Further, we wish to point out that President Zuma is preparing for his much-
anticipated criminal trial, the importance of which cannot be over-emphasized. It is
rather unfair to expect President Zuma to simultaneously consider evidence and
affidavits of more than 30 witnesses in order to make himself ready to appear before
the Commission on 21–25 September 2020. Equally, as his new attorneys of record,
we must be afforded sufficient time to consider all the evidence, consult with counsel
and President Zuma, in order to offer him proper advice on the way forward.
6. President Zuma is also engaged in several other cases which require his full
attention. It must be noted further that President Zuma is also of advanced age and
given the current Covid-19 pandemic, he has been advised to limit his movements.
This has had an impact on our own ability to consult with him in respect of the
Commission.
7. We are of the view that at the very least suitable dates should have been discussed
with us as his new legal team. We request that future dates, including those of the
pending application be discussed with us before they are confirmed, lest our
unavailability be interpreted as non-co-operation.
8. We note the threat that the Commission “reserves its rights to take steps to compel
the former President to appear before the Commission” and consider it unnecessary
to respond to it at this stage as it does not assist the process in any way. Instead, it
only serves to demonstrate the disdain with which the Commission’s legal team
Page 3
treats President Zuma. We do not wish to engage in such exchange of threats as

this may only taint the integrity of such an important Commission.
9. We are instructed that the pending application itself was necessitated by the
Commission’s refusal to believe that President Zuma was indeed out of the country
to receive medical attention. As we understand it, the Chairperson of the
Commission, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo undertook or ruled that he
would meet President Zuma’s medical doctor to verify whatever he did not believe
that President Zuma was receiving medical attention in Cuba at the time he was
asked to appear before the Commission. We are currently instructed to deal with
that application with which the Commission’s legal team persist. We also await the
outcome of the meeting between the Chairperson and President Zuma’s doctor.
10. In our view, over and above other logistical difficulties we face as the new legal
team, it is premature to seek to call President Zuma to appear before finalizing the
application that is pending before the Commission in respect of the Commission’s
own application to issue summons / subpoena against President Zuma.
11. Further to the above, President Zuma has raised a concern regarding the
implications of the promulgation of Proclamation No 24 of 2020, and is seeking legal
advice on the implications thereof on his further participation.
12. In the circumstances, we are instructed to inform the Commission, as we hereby do,
that for all the reasons mentioned above President Zuma will not be able to attend
the proceedings scheduled on the dates of 21-25 September 2020.
13. We note that the Commission’s legal team categorically states that it considers itself
no longer bound by the agreement reached between the parties on 19 July 2019.
14. We await your response and, in the meantime, all our client’s rights are reserved.
Page 4
Yours faithfully
MABUZA ATTORNEYS

Mabuza Slams Zondo Inquiry For Disdain' Towards Zuma

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Att: Ms KB Shabalala 1st Floor

Acting Secretary: Commission of Inquiry into State Capture 83 Central Street

Appearance by President JG Zuma before the Commission

1. We act on behalf of former President JG Zuma (“President Zuma”), and refer to

Mzuphela GM Yeko B.Proc (UNITRA)

treats President Zuma. We do not wish to engage in such exchange of threats as

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