POLL | Were Dali Mpofu’s arguments in court strong enough?

Advocate Dali Mpofu’s arguments on behalf of former president Jacob Zuma in the Pietermaritzburg high court have drawn mixed reactions online. 

On Tuesday, Mpofu represented Zuma in an urgent application to stay an arrest order. This after Zuma was found guilty of contempt of a Constitutional Court ruling that he must appear at the state capture inquiry. He was sentenced to 15 months in jail. 

His application for a rescission of the judgment is set to be heard by the ConCourt on July 12. 

Mpofu argued that Zuma was a senior citizen and not a flight risk. He said the court should suspend Zuma’s warrant of arrest, citing his health condition was “uncontestably precarious”.

He also argued that Zuma was being sentenced without facing trial and asked judge Bhekisisa Mnguni to grant him a stay, saying if not granted Zuma would be subjected to the “worst imaginable” human rights violation.

State capture inquiry lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi poured cold water on the argument and suggested it was an excuse for Zuma to avoid jail.

Ngcukaitobi referred to Zuma as a “repetitive and recalcitrant lawbreaker”, saying he took the law into his own hands and his application should be dismissed. 

He said the court was dealing with a “fraught” case with external elements.

“Mr Mpofu spoke about security concerns but it is precisely in situations such as this that the law needs to be expressed clearly and pronounced without ambiguity,” said Ngcukaitobi

“It is precisely in situations such as this that the judiciary needs to speak without ambivalence about the correct legal position. Today the legal position couldn’t be clearer.

“If we were not dealing with a case such as this, that is a fraught case with external elements, it would be very clear from the outset what the correct thing is, which is to dismiss the current application.”

Speaking on SABC News, police ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said the police have until midnight on Wednesday to arrest Zuma. 

“We haven’t received any correspondence from the ConCourt. Failing the court getting back to us, we have no choice but to execute the ConCourt order which clearly states the former president has to be in custody before the end of today. We have until midnight to do so,” said Themba.