Cape Town — Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo, says the country’s judiciary has experienced “unwarranted attacks” from people who have tried to delegitimise it.
Zondo appeared in an interview on eNCA where he reflected on his tenure as Chief Justice and how South Africa has handled 30 years of democracy.
He claimed South Africa’s judiciary is still not institutionally independent, and that the country still lags behind many other African countries when it comes to independence.
Zondo said that he was laughed at when discussing with other Chief Justices in Southern Africa over how far behind South Afric was. He also spoke about how the judiciary has fallen victim to unwarranted attacks from people who have tried to delegitimise the work the judiciary has done.
“Some of those people, when they win court cases, suddenly, the judiciary is not that bad. There are people who don’t want the judiciary to be seen as credible and legitimate. They make it their job to attack the judiciary. We have tended to focus on our work, and occasionally come out to respond when we need to,” he said.
[ON AIR] Chief Justice Raymond Zondo speaks on the independence of the judiciary and its role in democracy on #PowerToTruth #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/XBmGRTfJw0
— eNCA (@eNCA) April 8, 2024
According to The Citizen, Zondo also said he has not received many complaints or corruption allegations against the members of the judiciary. The judiciary has also faced criticism from former president, Jacob Zuma. In 2021, he claimed some judges had “sold their souls and forsaken their oaths of office in an attempt to vilify him”.
Zuma was in the spotlight after he defied an order by the ConCourt to appear before the Zondo Commission, which investigated allegations of state capture. Zuma singled out two judges in his statement: deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo and Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo.
Zuma stated that he was not defying the law but a few “lawless judges”.
“We sit with some judges who have assisted the incumbent president to hide from society what on the face of it seem to be bribes obtained in order to win an internal ANC election.” he said.
Zondo’s current tenure is set to end on 31 August.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@OCJ_RSA
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
