Publications
Partners
The Constitutional Court has announced that it is ready to hand down judgment in the State Capture Inquiry's contempt of court case against former president Jacob Zuma.
In a tweet from its official account, the apex court said judgment would be handed down at 10:00 on Tuesday.
(2/2) Please note that court attendance at this hand down will be limited to 20 members of the public, including the media.
— Constitutional Court (@ConCourtSA) June 28, 2021
If Zuma is found to be in contempt of court for refusing to appear before the commission, the Constitutional Court will also consider what the appropriate sanction should be.
The commission asked the court to sentence the president to two years behind bars for contempt.
WRAP | ConCourt reserves judgment against Zuma for failing to appear before Zondo commission
The case was heard on 25 March.
The commission argued that Zuma had acted with 'malice' and called for a costs order to be awarded against him.
Since then, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who chairs the commission, and his team have applied for the commission's term to be extended. On Monday, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria agreed to the request, extending the term by three months.
Earlier this year, Zuma defied a Constitutional Court directive to appear before the commission to continue giving evidence.
He first appeared before Zondo last year, but snubbed the commission in February in defiance of the Constitutional Court.
Zuma said he would not give evidence about his time in office at the Union Buildings and insisted that he was prepared to go to jail.
In April, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng asked Zuma to file an affidavit detailing what sanctions he believes he should face if he is found guilty of contempt.
Less than a week later, Zuma filed an affidavit, but only to tell the court he would not be responding to its request.
