Public interest organisation Sakeliga has accused Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of contempt of court after she failed to disclose documents pertaining to government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement on Monday, Sakeliga CEO Piet le Roux said the organisation has instructed its legal team to file an application of contempt of court against Dlamini-Zuma in her capacity as minister and head of the department that handled government’s response to the pandemic after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster in March 2020.
Le Roux said while Ramaphosa was the one making late-night announcements, Dlamini-Zuma was legally responsible for the decisions made.
“She, therefore, is the designated destination for a request for information and a subsequent court order,” Le Roux said.
Sunday World understands that the documents required include records Dlamini-Zuma relied on when she made decisions about Covid-19 regulations and the extension of the national state of disaster, the rationale behind the regulation and restrictions, and records of deliberations.
Sakeliga argues that the organisation had requested certain documents from the minister but was provided with several pages of documents that were already in the public domain.
According to Le Roux, there are no records of inter-departmental correspondence, the ban of tobacco, and minutes of meetings in the publicised documents. He said for failing to obey a court order, Dlamini-Zuma remains in contempt of court.
“In terms of an order obtained by Sakeliga on November 9 2022, Dlamini-Zuma should have submitted to Sakeliga by December 22 2022 a variety of records she had relied on when declaring the national state of disaster in March 2020 and subsequently extending it several times,” said Le Roux.
“This she has not done. Instead of doing so, the state attorney – on Dlamini-Zuma’s instruction – submitted records concerning isolated decisions that are already available in the public domain. Sakeliga then put an extended due date of January 6 2023 to the minister.
“Reacting to the extended due date, the state attorney delivered to the offices of our attorneys boxes of files, approximately 3 800 pages, consisting exclusively of documents for public participation and research documents relating to the April 2020 ban on the sale and distribution of tobacco.
“The 3 800 pages have been directly copied from court files from an action at the time concerning the ban on tobacco, in which the minister was a respondent.”
Le Roux added that while it is clear that the minister is trying to “thwart” the court, it is imminent that she is found guilty of contempt and for her to be compelled to disclose the required documents or face imprisonment.
“The information granted to Sakeliga by the court will shed light on the decisions made by Dlamini-Zuma and a government that for more than two years caused enormous damage through unprecedented arbitrary dictates and restrictions.
“Sakeliga wishes to express the hope that the court order we have already obtained and any resultant contempt applications will allow members of the public to hold the state accountable for harmful decisions of the past and to fend off similar decisions in the future,” he said.
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