‘We fear State Capture report may never be published’
It was vital for the political parties to intervene, because if they did not, the state capture report might never be published, Dali Mpofu told the court.
|||Pretoria - “We accept President Jacob Zuma has procedural rights, but the issue here is will the public of South Africa enjoy its right to access to the content of the Public Protector's (state capture) report now, later or never, as the president wants,” Advocate Dali Mpofu told the court on Tuesday.
Mpofu was asking the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, for the UDM and Cope to join the fray in opposition to Zuma's application to keep the state capture report under wraps.
Mpofu said the public has the right to have the report published as soon as possible.
He said it was vital for the political parties to intervene, because if it did not, the Public Protector's report might never be published. This is because the new public protector simply said she would abide by any order the court might make.
“The only avenue open for the public to know about the president's ‘sins’ is through the intervention applications,” Mpofu said.
Advocate Stephan du Toit, for Des van Rooyen's latest application referred to as “ Van Rooyen 2” in court, meanwhile caused a stir when he asked that the case to stand down to Wednesday as he wanted to file papers in the intervention applications.
This was met by severe opposition by the various parties, who called it an abuse of the court process.
It was said on behalf of the EFF that Van Rooyen himself launched urgent court proceedings, but now they want the case to stand down.
The court was told that Van Rooyen's case in any event is the same as it was earlier this month.
Van Rooyen withdrew that application as he was told that he was not being implicated in Madonsela's report. But on Monday he re-launched his application when reports in a Sunday newspaper implicated him and said he was seen to have visited the Saxonwold home of the Guptas every day for an entire week before he was briefly appointed as finance minister.
Mpofu said Van Rooyen is abusing the court and he is only here because he fears the political parties may get the relief they are asking - that the report be published as soon as possible.
Judge Mlambo asked Du Toit if he changed his mind in asking for the matter to stand down in order to file further papers.
“We invited you to come along, as your client raises issues which is part of this application. Things have happened in this application, there have been responses (by the other parties). You cannot by your late entry delay the matter,” the judge said.
Du Toit said he wanted to file papers opposing the applications by the EFF, Cope and UDM to enter the fray.
He had no issue with the DA joining the proceedings.
The matter is standing down until 2.15pm for Du Toit to file his papers.
Pretoria News