NN Your ret Our reftantanga/z0021123, May 3, 2023 His Excellency the Honourable President Ramaphosa Union Buildings Pretoria Email: presidentrsa@presidency.gov.za nokukhanya@presidency.gov.za Dear Honourable President Cyril Ramaphosa, RE: IRRATIONALITY OF THE APPOINTMENT OF JUDGE RAYMOND ZONDO AS CHIEF JUSTICE 1. We act on behalf of the Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma Foundation (‘the Foundation’), a duly registered non-governmental organisation in South Africa and also on behalf of Former President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (‘our clients”). We are separately instructed by our clients to raise the issues outlined below with you. 2. Onor about 11 March 2022 in your capacity as President of the Republic of South Africa and acting in terms of section 174(3) of the Constitution, you appointed Judge Raymond Mnyamezeli Zondo as the Chief Justice of South Africa with effect from 1 April 2022. 3. The appointment was duly preceded by a process of nominations, acceptances, and lastly interviews conducted under the auspices of the Judicial Services Commission, conducted in terms of section 174(3) of the Constitution, The President may only appoint a Chief Justice after consultation with the JSC. TNUIN hinge pacconormannroecanrsimepaatn Sowing — SeegEaten | RR ma ae www.ntanga.co.za4. During the said JSC interviews one of the pertinent issues raised and which should have disqualified Judge Zondo was his clearly untruthful and dishonest account of meetings privately held with the Former President Zuma who is the patron of the Foundation. 5. Among several other disqualifying factors is the fact that Judge Zondo had at the time and still does continue to ignore an application brought by Former President Zuma against his non-recusal from sitting as Chairperson of the so- called State Capture Commission in respect of his appearance and/or participation in those proceedings and based on, inter alia, the previous relationships and other dealings between Judge Zondo and Former President Zuma. 6. Our clients also have reason to believe that Judge Zondo was correctly ranked last by the JSC following its post-interview deliberations. This means that, in the independent view of the JSC, all the other three nominees performed far better than Judge Zondo and he was determined to be the least suitable or an unsuitable candidate. It is therefore inexplicable and seemingly irrational that you nevertheless elected to ignore or overlook the informed recommendations of the JSC in making the relevant appointment. The appointment was also irrational in that you defied the requirements of gender transformation as prescribed in section 174(2) of the Constitution by overlooking Justice Maya who had in any event performed far better than Judge Zondo. Judge Maya was also the only suitable candidate in that she had passed the threshold of 12 or more votes for appointment to the position of Chief Justice or any other judicial vacancy. At a bare minimum our clients deserve to be furnished with reasons justifying such apparently irrational conduct on your part INN Siti regs sortetnn ston tnerenin Sarees | SESE | eT awe www.ntanga.co.zaNN It is self-evident from the above that the legal requirement of making the appointment after consultation with the JSC was not met in the circumstances. It is also our clients’ belief that the appointment was accompanied by ulterior, illegal and unconstitutional and personal motives on your part. To add insult to injury, Judge Zondo has aggravated the issue of his obvious non-suitability for the position even by his subsequent conduct following the illegal appointment. For example he has: 9.1. prejudiced and violated Former President Zuma’s rights by making adverse findings against him in the Report of the State Capture Commission, even though he unlawfully failed to give him a fair hearing; 9.2. more recently and in giving a lecture in honour of the life of Former ANC President Oliver Tambo at the University of Fort Hare, gratuitously insulted Former President Zuma by making adverse unjustified and itrational political and personal statements against him which are all unbefitting of a Judge let alone the Chief Justice before whom some of those issues are likely to arise in the course of litigation. Even if such issues were somehow unlikely to come before him directly or as a matter of first instance, which is denied, the mere making of such utterances will clearly poison the minds of any other judges before whom such issues would be disputed. The Chief Justice is the most senior judge in the country and all other judges are subordinate to him and his authority. mati www.ntanga.co.zaTanga Nani re 10. Given Former President's publicly announced intention to challenge the findings of the so-called Zondo Commission, such conduct on the part of Judge Zondo constituted the proverbial last straw. Such conduct only serves to underscore and reconfirm the original bias and prejudice raised in the recusal application. DEMAND 11. For all the reasons mentioned above, which are by no means exhaustive, our client has instructed us to demand, as we hereby do, that you reverse your illegal decision(s) to appoint Judge Zondo as Chief Justice and to ignore or overlook the recommendations of the JSC. Such conduct was clearly in violation of your constitutional obligations conferred in terms of section 178, read with section 83 of the Constitution. You are required to do so on or before 11 May 2023. 12. Secondly, we are instructed to demand, as we hereby do, that you furnish our clients with the reasons which led to your aforesaid ostensibly irrational decision(s) and/or conduct and to do so by the date referred to in the preceding paragraph 13, Failure to comply with any or all the abovementioned demands will result in our clients instituting urgent legal proceedings in the appropriate court without giving any further notice to you 14, Please treat this matter with seriousness which it deserves given the nature of the issue raised above. INN Siheczgeesconcnroomnenmane By | GB | tee www.ntanga.co.zaNN ange ‘ior 15. We await your urgent response by no later than the deadline referred to at paragraph 11 above. Y uly, Mongezi Ntanga CC1: The Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission Email: kmoretlwe@judiciary.org.za CC2: The Minister Justice and Constitutional Development Email: rolamola@icloud.com sere fess 6h HDp Ta GA, POR Daeg ieeaon wero | ere sug | PoE eg 2 | Sonne www.ntanga.co.za