The African National Congress (ANC) said on Saturday that its president, Jacob Zuma, had nothing to do with a senior judge accused of trying to influence members of the Constitutional Court in legal cases involving him.
Media reported on Friday that the Constitutional Court said Cape Judge President John Hlophe had approached several members of its bench to influence them in legal cases involving Zuma.
”The issue has nothing to do with Mr Zuma,” ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte told Reuters.
Zuma faces fraud, bribery, money-laundering and other charges connected to his alleged role in an arms deal.
Zuma, who defeated President Thabo Mbeki for the ANC leadership last December, is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of rands in bribes from French arms manufacturer Thint. He has denied the charges and said he will step down from his position if convicted.
Helen Zille, leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance, said in a statement on Friday that Hlophe should be dismissed if he was found to have abused his power. She said her party wanted to know whether Hlophe had acted at the behest of Zuma or his allies.
”We are very startled by the comments of Zille because the statement issued by the judges totally indicates that none of the litigants knew [this],” Duarte said.
”We are really not happy about Zille’s comments about Mr Zuma and are waiting for the judicial commission’s inquiry, which is the right thing to do.”
Zuma’s defence team has filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court to overturn a lower court ruling allowing prosecutors to use documents seized in raids on properties belonging to the ANC chief and one of his lawyers.
They argue that the search warrants used were illegal.
‘Utter rubbish’
Meanwhile, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) on Saturday said Hlophe’s immediate departure would help to restore trust in the judiciary.
In a statement, IFP spokesperson Koos van der Merwe said Hlophe was ”contaminating the excellent reputation” of the majority of high court judges.
He said the latest complaint against Hlophe by judges of the Constitutional Court was conclusive proof that he was not fit to hold the office of a judge of the high court.
”The Constitutional Court views the matter in a very serious light and is clearly of the view that Hlophe has violated his oath of office and the provisions of the Constitution regarding the role and function of courts.
”Hlophe is an embarrassment to the judiciary in general and to the bench in particular,” he said.
The IFP it was necessary that the complaints against Hlophe be made public.
The Saturday Star reported that Hlophe has dismissed the accusations made against him as ”utter rubbish”.
”I regard this as another ploy to damage my reputation,” he said. — Reuters, Sapa