The African National Congress (ANC) convened the hearing of former President Jacob Zuma virtually as planned yesterday. Zuma had insisted that the hearing be held in person at the party's headquarters at Luthuli House in the Johannesburg CBD, but his wish was not granted.

WAY FORWARD

In a statement late last night, the ANC Disciplinary Committee confirmed that they received representations from Tony Yengeni, who is Zuma's chosen representative.

"After considering the representations made, the National Disciplinary Committee ruled that the disciplinary hearing of the charged member will be held on the virtual platform. Secondly that the hearing will take place on Tuesday, 23 July 2024, at 10h00 and thirdly that a second pre-hearing conference, as requested by the representative of the charged member, to streamline issues, will be held on the virtual platform on Thursday, 18 July 2024 at 12h00. Neither the pre-hearing conference nor the actual disciplinary hearing will be open to the public or the media," said the ANC in a statement. The ANC said that a verdict will be announced once the committee has received and reviewed all arguments. "We cannot specify the timeline for this process, as it depends on the scope of the deliberations and the issues under consideration," they concluded.

HE PREFERS A PHYSICAL HEARING

The uMkhonto Wesizwe Party responded and emphasised that Yengeni attended the virtual meeting alone to convey a clear message that Zuma prefers a physical hearing as previously agreed between himself and the ANC and as per the provisions of the ANC Constitution. "Secondly, he applied for a postponement to a future date when such a physical hearing can be convened. After a lengthy debate, the NDC ruled that the matter would proceed on the virtual platform. The NDC, however, granted the postponement in order to allow Comrade Yengeni to convey the outcome to President Zuma and enable the holding of a pre-hearing conference," read the statement from the MK Party.