CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS

The FW de Klerk Foundation congratulates Judge Raymond Zondo on his recent appointment to the position of Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. 

Judge Zondo has a distinguished legal career to date. From humble roots in KwaZulu-Natal, he served his articles with the late Victoria Mxenge, where his interest in human rights grew. A notable career highlight was his appointment as a member of the Goldstone Commission, which was established by then President FW de Klerk, to investigate political violence and intimidation between July 1991 and the first general election in 1994. 

The FW de Klerk Foundation announces its participation as co-applicant, with Quaker Peace Centre and AfriForum, in the action against the President of South Africa, the Deputy President and the Government of South Africa. This loose coalition represents a diverse cross-section of South Africans, who are united in seeking the return of constitutional values and the Rule of Law in all matters concerning the State.

The main thrust of the application is to seek a declaratory order from the Constitutional Court that, due to the possibility of being conflicted, the President is unable to act in the appointment of a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture. This conflict of interest is a point that the President has previously admitted before the Constitutional Court in the Nkandla matter.