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Tom Moyane’s lawyer has confirmed that the suspended commissioner will ask the courts to stop the SARS Inquiry if the president rejects their request.
Moyane’s lawyer Eric Mabuza was speaking to eNCA on the sidelines of the inquiry on Monday. Fin24 had reported earlier that the inquiry would go on despite objections from Moyane’s team that it be halted pending the outcomes of his disciplinary hearing.
Judge Robert Nugent had said that the inquiry could not dissolve itself as it was established by presidential proclamation
Mabuza told eNCA that he anticipated the judge to say that he did not have power to make the rulings on matters raised by Advocate Dali Mpofu on Friday.
“Our next point would be to take the issue up with the president. As we heard the judge say he did not appoint himself. So we will go to the decision maker who appointed the judge to raise the very issues that we’ve raised before the judge.”
He added that the team has been instructed by Moyane to escalate the matter to the courts if the President rejects the submission. “We had to raise the issue internally to the judge before taking it to the president,” he explained.
Nugent criticised the submissions by Moyane’s team as being littered with "abuse, invective and sinister suggestion". To this Mabuza said he did not want to impugn the integrity of the judiciary and that it is unfortunate that the judge was “personal” about the counsel.
Mabuza said that Advocate Mpofu would defend himself against the personal attacks.
Mabuza is yet to respond to Fin24's queries, as is the Presidency's spokesperson Khusela Diko.
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