‘Arrest my father’ – Jacob Zuma’s son dares the NPA

Former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Edward, is standing by his father’s decision to not abide by a Constitutional Court ruling that he finally appear the State Capture Commission.

Zuma released a statement, in which he said he would no longer work with the commission, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. The former president said he was not afraid of going to prison and further took a swipe at the highest court in the land, accusing it of being politicised against him.

Edward Zuma: Why is my father being singled out?

In an interview with eNCA, Zuma Jr said his father was being singled out and given different treatment than Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, whose failure to once appear, did not sit well with Zondo.

“Mr Gordhan defied that commission on several occasions and nothing has been said or done about it. But now when Zuma is raising issues, it becomes a problem. So why do you want to single out Mr Zuma and give him treatment different to other people?,” Zuma said.

Asked what they expected to happen next, with the former president defying the Constitutional Court, Zuma’s son said:

“We were very clear in the statement that we are not going to cooperate and if they want to arrest him, incarcerate him, so be it,” he said.

In light of Zuma Jr’s response, he was then asked whether his father was daring the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to arrest him.

“They must come for him, they must come and arrest him. We’ll have to see about that,” he said in response.

Dan Moyane spoke to former president Jacob Zuma's son Edward. He explained the statement released this morning that the former president will defy the Constitutional Court order and will not cooperate with the State Capture Commission. Courtesy #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/9Ix89WS4ps

— eNCA (@eNCA) February 1, 2021

On Thursday, 28 January 2021, the apex court ruled that Zuma was to face the music at the State Capture Inquiry. This came after numerous attempts by the former president not to appear and give his side of the story, having been implicated by at least 34 witnesses at the commission.

Zuma is considered a central figure in the state capture commission – which is looking into allegations that he, along with the controversial Gupta family and other government officials, continuously looted critical state entities – to their financial benefit.

In light of the former president’s latest move, only time will tell as to what happens next.