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Roundup: South African court battle unfolding over "state capture" report

Xinhua, November 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

A fierce court battle was unfolding on Tuesday in the High Court in Pretoria over whether to release a report into the alleged "state capture" by the Indian Gupta family.

The court was hearing President Jacob Zuma's application to stop the release of the report that former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had compiled.

Opposition parties were pushing for the release of the report, while the government, represented by Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane and Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Des Van Rooyen, was trying to interdict the report's release.

The reason Zuma wants to interdict the release of the report is because he wants to exercise his rights, the court heard.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) argued in the court that the report should be released to it.

Another opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), argued that the release of the report is in the public's interest.

The EFF contended that it is the original complainant that launched the probe into Zuma's relationship with the Gupta family, which allegedly influenced the president in the appointment of cabinet ministers

Zwane launched an application on Monday, seeking to urgently interdict the release of the "state capture" report.

This followed Van Rooyen's announcement earlier on Monday that he would be launching a similar interdict - for the second time - after he withdrew his first one.

These attempts are nothing more than carefully calculated attempts to delay matters and drag out the inevitable release of the Public Protector's report, the DA said.

The DA claimed both ministers are well known to be Gupta proxies, and therefore their scrambling attempts to discredit this report is no doubt due to the fact that they are both implicated in the report.

In fact, the late joining by both ministers is a clear indication that their only intention is to delay court proceedings as far as possible, the DA said.

The DA argued in the court that Zuma, Van Rooyen and Zwane were applying delaying tactics in order to halt the release of the Public Protector's report.

The DA, which initiated the state capture investigation in March this year, said it would ensure the complete report be released and its findings be implemented without delay.

Last month, the High Court in Pretoria rejected the interdict applications by Zuma and Van Rooyen who seek to prevent the report from being released.

The Catholic Dominican Order and the DA requested the Public Protector in March this year to investigate the "state capture" by the Guptas after Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas and former Member of Parliament Vytjie Mentor said they were offered cabinet positions by the Guptas. Endit