Judge explains why he is forcing Zuma to explain Gordhan firing
Judge Bashir Vally has explained why he ordered President Jacob Zuma to give reasons behind his firing of ex-Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and why the President now has until Thursday to hand over any documents leading up to the decision – including the rumoured “intelligence” report.
“The announcement caused a great deal of consternation for a significant portion of the population,” said Vally in his judgement.
“It is no exaggeration to say that it was received with shock, alarm and dismay by many. One reason for this is that it came on the heels of an extensive public complaint that incessant malversation has embedded itself in our public life and that the country was mired in the quicksand of corruption.”
Vally stressed the importance of a separation of powers between administrative action and the review processes, and noted that by facilitating access to the records, it would enable the courts to perform their inherent functions of reviewing and scrutinising President Zuma’s actions in terms of the Constitution.
The DA had asked the court to order Zuma to provide a written record of decisions and reasons for the Cabinet reshuffle, to support the DA’s case arguing for Zuma’s decision to be set aside on the basis that it was invalid‚ irrational and unconstitutional.
On Thursday last week Judge Bashir Vally sided with the DA on its application, saying that the documentation must be provided within 5 court days, and that Zuma must pay the DA’s legal costs.
Read: Why SA courts won’t do much about Zuma’s firing of Gordhan
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