PRETORIA: South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma challenged on Friday a court ruling which ordered him to launch a legal probe into corruption allegations against him, according to legal documents.
The North Gauteng High Court last week ordered Zuma to appoint a judicial inquiry within 30 days to investigate graft allegations that have dogged him and his associates in recent years.
It said the country’s chief justice, not Zuma, should choose a judge to preside over the inquiry to avoid a conflict of interest.
But in court papers seen by local media on Friday, Zuma’s lawyers challenged the order on 20 grounds, arguing that it “offends the separation of powers doctrine” which governs the relationship between the executive and the judiciary.
In its ruling last week, the court also reprimanded the president for being “seriously reckless” by defying the recommendations of the country’s graft watchdog which proposed the judicial inquiry.
Judge Dunstan Mlambo said the watchdog had “uncovered worrying levels of malfeasance and corruption” and yet Zuma was “delaying the resolution” of the allegations.
He also ruled that Zuma should personally pay the litigation costs, including one in which he had sought to halt the publication last year of the graft watchdog’s scathing report linking him to the wealthy Gupta family.
The Indian-origin business family is accused of having undue power over Zuma’s government, including influence over the appointment of some Cabinet ministers.
Zuma had tried to block the publication of the report arguing that he had not been granted enough time to respond to the allegations.
He stepped down this week as president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party after a 10 year term marked by numerous damning court judgments against him.
Zuma was succeeded by his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa in a tightly fought contest in which his former wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma also ran.
He is due to resign as state president after general elections in 2019.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance party said Zuma is “simply playing for time” so that “evidence can be destroyed” before he appoints the commission of inquiry.
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Zuma challenges SA court over graft inquiry order
Zuma challenges SA court over graft inquiry order
At least 5 killed after Mexican Navy plane on medical mission crashes in Texas
- The Monday afternoon crash killed at least five people and has set off a search in the waters off the Texas coast
- Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press that four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians
DALLAS: A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a young medical patient and seven others crashed Monday near Galveston, killing at least five people and setting off a search in waters along the Texas coast, officials said.
Four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians, including a child, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press. Two of the passengers were from a nonprofit that provides aid to Mexican children with severe burns, including transports to a Galveston hospital.
US Coast Guard Petty Officer Luke Baker said at least five aboard had died but did not identify which passengers.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Mexico’s Marines said in a statement that it is sending “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.”
The crash took place Monday afternoon in Galveston Bay near the base of the causeway that connects Galveston Island to the mainland. Emergency responders and search teams rushed to the scene near the popular beach destination along the Texas coast that is about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
Sky Decker, a professional yacht captain who lives about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the crash site, said he jumped in his boat to see if he could help. He said he picked up two police officers who directed him through thick fog to a nearly completely submerged plane. Decker jumped in the water and found a badly injured woman trapped beneath chairs and other debris.
“I couldn’t believe. She had maybe 3 inches of air gap to breathe in,” he said. “And there was jet fuel in there mixed with the water, fumes real bad. She was really fighting for her life.”
He said he also pulled out a man sitting in front of her who had already died. He described both of them as dressed in civilian clothes.
Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transports to children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s hospital in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.
The foundation said in a post on social media, “We express our deepest solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honoring their memory and reaffirming our commitment to providing humane, sensitive, and dignified care to children with burns.”
The statement from Mexico’s Navy said the plane had an “accident” during its approach to Galveston but did not elaborate.
Teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have arrived at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on the social platform X.
A spokesperson from NTSB said they are “aware of this accident and are gathering information about it.” The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.
It’s not immediately clear if weather was a factor. The area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist. He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility.
Four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians, including a child, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press. Two of the passengers were from a nonprofit that provides aid to Mexican children with severe burns, including transports to a Galveston hospital.
US Coast Guard Petty Officer Luke Baker said at least five aboard had died but did not identify which passengers.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Mexico’s Marines said in a statement that it is sending “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.”
The crash took place Monday afternoon in Galveston Bay near the base of the causeway that connects Galveston Island to the mainland. Emergency responders and search teams rushed to the scene near the popular beach destination along the Texas coast that is about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
Sky Decker, a professional yacht captain who lives about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the crash site, said he jumped in his boat to see if he could help. He said he picked up two police officers who directed him through thick fog to a nearly completely submerged plane. Decker jumped in the water and found a badly injured woman trapped beneath chairs and other debris.
“I couldn’t believe. She had maybe 3 inches of air gap to breathe in,” he said. “And there was jet fuel in there mixed with the water, fumes real bad. She was really fighting for her life.”
He said he also pulled out a man sitting in front of her who had already died. He described both of them as dressed in civilian clothes.
Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transports to children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s hospital in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.
The foundation said in a post on social media, “We express our deepest solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honoring their memory and reaffirming our commitment to providing humane, sensitive, and dignified care to children with burns.”
The statement from Mexico’s Navy said the plane had an “accident” during its approach to Galveston but did not elaborate.
Teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have arrived at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on the social platform X.
A spokesperson from NTSB said they are “aware of this accident and are gathering information about it.” The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.
It’s not immediately clear if weather was a factor. The area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist. He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility.
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