Zondo Commission


The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, was a public inquiry established in January 2018 by former President Jacob Zuma to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption, and fraud in the public sector in South Africa.
By December 2020, the commission had interviewed 278 witnesses and collected 159,109 pages and one exabyte of data as evidence. It received eight extensions to finish its report, with 15 June 2022 being the end of its mandate. The first part of the report was published on 4 January 2022. The fifth and final part was published on 22 June 2022. It cost the state close to R1 billion, far more than any prior South African judicial inquiry.
The reports provide strong evidence of state capture and detailed insight into how state capture was organised and facilitated by some leaders in both the public and private sectors.

Background

In 2016, the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, launched an investigation into state capture after receiving formal complaints from Stanislaus Muyebe of the Dominican Order of Southern Africa, another member of the public, and leader of the opposition Mmusi Maimane. In November 2016, the publication of the report of her investigation, titled State of Capture, caused a major scandal. The report implicated Zuma and other state officials in improper relationships with the Gupta family, among other improprieties, and recommended that Zuma should appoint a commission of inquiry into state capture. Zuma sought to have Madonsela's findings overturned in the High Court, but the court dismissed his application, finding that the Public Protector's recommendation was binding and that Zuma had to appoint a commission of inquiry within 30 days. At the instruction of the court, it was Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng who selected the chairperson of the inquiry, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Zondo is assisted by several other full-time officials, including former Auditor-General Terence Nombembe at the head of the investigations team, and Frank Dutton, who served as lead investigator until his death in January 2022.
The commission was established in January 2018 but did not hold its first hearing until August 2018, by which time Zuma had resigned and been replaced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Following a series of extensions, it concluded its hearings in August 2021 with testimony from Ramaphosa. However, on 29 September, the Pretoria High Court granted the commission another three-month extension, which expired at the end of December 2021. Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola – whose portfolio is responsible for financing the commission – lodged, and then withdrew, a legal challenge to the application for an extension. Another extension was granted to the commission on 28 December, giving it until 28 February 2022 to hand over the report to Ramaphosa.
The first part of the report was handed over to Ramaphosa on 4 January 2022. The second part was handed over on 1 February. On 23 February, the Pretoria High Court extended the deadline to 30 April. The commission delivered the third part of its findings on 1 March. An eighth extension was granted by the court on 28 April, extending the deadline to 15 June. The fourth tranche was handed over on 29 April. The commission however failed to meet the deadline for handing over the final part of the report. The fifth and final tranche was handed over on 22 June.

Areas of interest

Terms of reference

The commission was appointed under terms of reference which were flexible but which singled out for investigation several issues, primarily arising from the State of Capture report and of varying degrees of specificity. Thus the commission was to investigate whether:
  • attempts had been made through inducements to influence members of the national executive or other state functionaries, including whether the Gupta family had offered cabinet positions to politicians Vytjie Mentor and Mcebisi Jonas;
  • the appointment of members of the national executive and office bearers had been disclosed to the Gupta family or other unauthorised persons prior to the appointments being formally made or announced;
  • the national executive or state functionaries had facilitated the unlawful awarding of tenders by state entities to benefit the Gupta family or any other individuals or corporate entities;
  • there had been corruption in the awarding of contracts and tenders by the 21 major state-owned entities listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Finance Management Act;
  • there had been irregularities, undue enrichment, corruption, or undue influence in the awarding of contracts, mining licenses, government advertising in the New Age newspaper, and any other governmental services to the Gupta family;
  • any member of the national executive had improperly intervened in the matter of the closing of banking facilities for Gupta-owned companies;
  • any advisers in the Ministry of Finance had been appointed without proper procedures, including whether Minister Des van Rooyen's two senior advisers had been appointed improperly;
  • there had been corruption in the awarding of contracts and tenders by government, and of what nature and extent; and
  • in particular, whether the national executive or state functionaries had influenced the awarding of tenders to benefit themselves, their families, or entities in which they held a personal interest.
If irregularities were found, the Commission was also to investigate the extent to which the national executive – including Zuma and the deputy ministers – had been responsible for them.

Hearings

Most testimony given to the inquiry focused on corruption and maladministration at state institutions during Zuma's administration. Over 300 witnesses testified, with revelations including allegations about:
  • State capture by the Gupta brothers, including, through their media enterprises, contracts that companies associated with the brothers received from state-owned companies, and controversy over an Air Force Base Waterkloof incident;
  • Corruption and maladministration at the Vrede Dairy Project;
  • Issues relating to lobbying to protect the pay-TV monopoly of MultiChoice;
  • Payment of kickbacks to secure government contracts by EOH Group;
  • The role of McKinsey & Company in facilitating large-scale corruption by the Gupta brothers;
  • The role of Bain & Company in helping to systematically de-capacitate the South African Revenue Service; and
  • Harassment and persecution faced by whistleblowers who helped expose corruption.
During hearings on these sagas, the commission has heard extensive testimony about maladministration and/or corruption at state-owned enterprises and state institutions including:
Several witnesses – according to the commission, more than 40 by February 2021 – personally implicated Zuma in misconduct. For example:
  • Vytjie Mentor testified that in 2010, while Zuma was in a nearby room, the Gupta family had offered to make her Minister of Public Enterprises if she cancelled the South African Airways route to India, to the benefit of Jet Airways and Etihad Airways;
  • Themba Maseko, former head of Government Communications and Information Systems, testified that in 2010 Zuma had asked him to "help" the Gupta family, including by placing government advertisements in the Gupta-owned New Age;
  • Former Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene testified that in 2015, Zuma had scolded him for not having finalised a R1.6-trillion nuclear deal with Russia, which Nene thought exorbitantly expensive and which was ultimately approved by cabinet the same night that Nene was fired;
  • Former Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan testified that Zuma had attempted to interfere in the appointment of chief executives at Transnet and Eskom, attempting to install Siyabonga Gama and Jacob Maroga respectively;
  • Angelo Agrizzi, former Bosasa chief of operations, testified that the Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson paid monthly R300,000 bribes to Zuma, and that Watson had hoped to lobby Zuma to hire a new director at the National Prosecuting Authority ahead of investigations into Bosasa; and
  • Former ANN7 editor Rajesh Sundaram testified that Zuma – as well as his son Duduzane Zuma, who had a financial interest in the Gupta-owned ANN7 – was closely involved in ANN7 strategy and hoped to set ANN7 apart from eNCA, which he felt portrayed him and the government negatively.

    Notable testimony

Many individuals have been summoned to testify before the Commission, including former president Jacob Zuma and other current and former government ministers and officials, as well as various business executives. Those required to testify include Ben Ngubane, Mosebenzi Zwane, Barbara Hogan, Mcebisi Jonas, Des van Rooyen, Nomvula Mokonyane, Vytjie Mentor, Pravin Gordhan, Sibongile Sambo, Job Mokgoro and Angelo Agrizzi, among many others.

State Security Agency

Testimony given by multiple members of the South African State Security Agency made national headlines for the amount of state funds used irregularly, breadth of controversial clandestine activities, and overt support the agency gave to president Zuma during his presidency. The acting director-general of the SSA, Loyiso Jafta, testified that it was highly a politicised agency following its formation in 2009 and that was used to improperly fund and support a number of African National Congress political activities. This confirmed previous testimony given by the Former Chairperson of the High-Level Panel of Review into the SSA, Sydney Mufamadi. Jafta stated that at least R9 billion of the SAA's fixed assets were "not to be found and that R125-million could not be accounted for in the 2017/18 financial year." Prior to Jafta's testimony the Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo sought to muzzle Jafta arguing that it would endanger state security.
Testimony given to the commission regarding the improper activities of the SSA state that:
  • The news wire service, African News Agency, was given R20 million in 2015/16 as part of a state campaign to action a "media project aimed at 'countering negative local and international perceptions of the country, Zuma and the SSA'".
  • Then president Jacob Zuma was personally and improperly given millions of Rands in cash from the SSA budget on a monthly basis between 2015 and 2017.
  • SSA resources and intelligence were used to fight political battles within the ANC. This includes fighting against President Ramaphosa's 2017 ANC presidential campaign to replace Zuma.
  • SSA resources were used to enhance the electoral fortunes of the ANC.
  • The SSA was used to spy on and neutralise civil society actives such as the Right2Know campaign, Zuma Must Fall and Fees Must Fall movements.
  • SSA resources were used to prevent investigations into state corruption and improper activities within the SSA.