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
French TV broadcasts Louvre robbery images
- Video shows the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases
- Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist
PARIS: Footage of the spectacular robbery at the Louvre Museum has been broadcast for the first time on French television, showing the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases.
The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the hugely embarrassing break-in in October.
They show the two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, as they force their way into the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking in through a reinforced window with high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene.
Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritize the evacuation of visitors.
The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have cast a harsh spotlight on management of the institution and director Laurence des Cars.
Trade unions are pressing for more recruitment and better maintenance of the vast former royal palace, launching several days of strikes in recent months.
Another stoppage on Monday forced a full closure for the third time since December, leaving thousands of tourists disappointed outside again.
Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found.
During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitors through the gallery, according to France Televisions.
The images, as well as multiple DNA samples found at the scene, form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the robbery.
Details of the footage have been reported in French newspapers, including Le Parisien.
Metal bars have been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery since the break-in.
The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the hugely embarrassing break-in in October.
They show the two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, as they force their way into the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking in through a reinforced window with high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene.
Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritize the evacuation of visitors.
The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have cast a harsh spotlight on management of the institution and director Laurence des Cars.
Trade unions are pressing for more recruitment and better maintenance of the vast former royal palace, launching several days of strikes in recent months.
Another stoppage on Monday forced a full closure for the third time since December, leaving thousands of tourists disappointed outside again.
Four suspects are in police custody over the October 19 heist, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found.
During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitors through the gallery, according to France Televisions.
The images, as well as multiple DNA samples found at the scene, form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the robbery.
Details of the footage have been reported in French newspapers, including Le Parisien.
Metal bars have been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery since the break-in.
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