If former President Jacob Zuma makes good on his promise not to appear before the State Capture Inquiry on Monday, he will become the second South African former head of state to defy a subpoena issued against him by a commission.
The first was apartheid President PW Botha, who was convicted of contempt after he failed to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in late 1997 – to answer questions about his role in the State Security Council, which was believed to be linked to government-sanctioned murders of anti-apartheid activists.
Botha successfully appealed that conviction on legal-technical grounds.
