PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will fight for Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to remain in his position.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation announced on Tuesday night, 3 October that it had learnt that Ramaphosa was intending to oppose its application to have Zondo removed.
Zuma and his foundation believe that Zondo is unfit for the position of chief justice and they want his appointment declared unconstitutional and set aside.
According to the statement, the president filed his notice on 26 September that he would oppose the application by Zuma and the foundation.
”Last week on the 26th of September 2023, Ramaphosa filed his notice to oppose the application while the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) filed a notice to abide whatever decision of the court will make,” said foundation spokesman Mzwanele Manyi.
He said the next step in the process will be the compulsory provision by the JSC and Ramaphosa of the record of the proceedings and deliberations pertaining to the JSC's recommendations and the president’s decision.
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“According to publicly available evidence, the current chief justice scored the lowest number of votes from the JSC following the week-long interviews.
"Yet, Ramaphosa allegedly acted irrationally in ignoring the advice of the JSC and appointing him despite being effectively declared as unsuitable for the position and the poor showing he made at the public interview.
"The applicants and the public will surely look forward to what legal justification Ramaphosa will give for his decision when he files his answering affidavit,” said Manyi.
Zuma and his foundation launched an application against Ramaphosa in the North Gauteng High Court seeking relief to declare his conduct in appointing Zondo as the Chief Justice of South Africa to be unconstitutional and to review and set aside the decision to appoint him.
Manyi said Ramaphosa will be called upon to dispel the allegations or suspicions that Zondo was being unduly rewarded for absolving Ramaphosa for his role in the Bosasa/CR17 scandal, among other things, in the so-called State Capture Commission Report.
“He 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 of the Constitution) and section 174(2) of the Constitution both of which prohibit gender discrimination. The foundation will keep the public informed about developments in this important matter involving accountability,” said Manyi.
