Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa has refuted claims that he meddled with the judiciary after the release of the final part of the Zondo commission report was yet again delayed.
The report was expected to be released on Monday afternoon but the commission made an about turn following a discussion between Ramaphosa and State Capture commission chairperson and Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
The report is now expected to be issued on Wednesday.
The EFF has, however, condemned the “patently factional and suspicious” delay in releasing the report.
The party said the successive postponements after former South African State Security Agency director general Arthur Fraser made damning allegations of Ramaphosa’s involvement in money laundering, kidnapping, bribery and defeating the ends of justice over the robbery of millions of US dollars “concealed” on his farm, give credence to the claims that the report was being altered to cast doubt on Fraser’s credibility.
But the Presidency said it had not received any copy of the final report from the Commission.
It said the commission had stated that the electronic report will be submitted to the President on the evening of June 19, but this did not happen.
“In the morning of the 20th of June 2022, President Ramaphosa and Chief Justice Zondo held a brief telephone call in which the Chief Justice offered reassurance on the delivery of the report and discussed the coordination for the handover ceremony. The Commission’s team had informed the Presidency that the report will be finalised after the sitting of the Judicial Service Commission on Monday 20 June 2022 but not in time for the promised handover at 18h00 on the same day. No handover of the report can take place until and unless the Chief Justice has finalised his work,” the Presidency said in a statement.
The commission had stated that “due to challenges in processing Part V and VI of the Report on time for the handover to the President by 6pm on June 20, it has been agreed to move the event to Wednesday, June 22 the original handover date in Cape Town”.
“The Presidency therefore rejects claims that the President has in any manner interfered with the work of the commission or the judiciary as speculated by some opposition parties. Communication between the Chief Justice and the President has been over the delays in the delivery of the report and finalising the date for the official handover of the report,” said the Presidency.
Cape Times