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The South African Federation of Trade Unions welcomes today’s important ruling by a full bench of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. It dismissed President Zuma’s application to set aside and review the former public protector’s remedial action as set out in her State of Capture report.

It ordered him to establish a judicial commission of inquiry into Thuli Madonsela’s serious allegations within 30 days and said it was “necessary and appropriate” for the public protector to instruct that the Chief Justice must appoint the judge who heads the inquiry.

This was because of the extraordinary circumstances in which the president is linked to allegations of state capture — directly or indirectly - and that Zuma, his son Duduzane and his friends the Guptas are at the heart of the allegations, and he is therefore conflicted in the matter.

The court also ordered Zuma to give the judge appointed by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng the powers to appoint his or her own staff.

Zuma was also for the second time on Wednesday ordered to pay his legal costs costs personally. He had earlier in morning  been ordered to pay costs for an application he made in October 2016 to stop the finalisation and release of the State of Capture report.

This judgement follows the ruling by the same High Court last week that the appointment of NDPP Shaun Abrahams was invalid and that he must be replaced by Deputy Present Cyril Ramaphosa, as Zuma was responsible for his wrongful appointment in the first place.

SAFTU hopes that at long last there will progress in the battle to bring Zuma to justice, along with all those others implicated in both the State of Capture report and all others more recently identified in the Gupta emails and The President’s Keepers, as being involved in the looting of the state.

Issued by SAFTU