Zondo dismisses Malusi Gigaba's bid to silence Norma's state capture testimony
Former minister Malusi Gigaba has failed to convince the commission of inquiry into state capture to dismiss his estranged wife Nomachule from giving testimony.
Gigaba brought an application before the commission on Monday.
His lawyer Richard Solomon argued that Gigaba should be protected by marital privilege.
He added that the couple's acrimonious divorce and Nomachule's unwillingness to testify make her an unreliable witness.
"What we are saying is that there is spousal testimonial privilege and in that context, the non-compellability argument that we've raised should apply.
"Where you have Mrs Gigaba who now appears to be a reluctant witness is no longer a voluntary participant in the commission's proceedings, we say that in terms of section 3(4) of the Act, she should not and cannot be compelled to testify because all the protections that one would normally have, are no longer there," said Solomon.
"Her own evidence, on her own version, is now inherently unreliable."
#StateCaptureInquiry | Zondo and Solomon hash out the intricacies of spousal testimonial privilege ad procedural prejudice.
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) April 26, 2021
"Mrs Mngoma is no longer a willing participant of the commission's proceedings." pic.twitter.com/EErXZdrr3J
The commission's evidence leader Anton Myburgh argued that Gigaba's application has no merit.
"All three legs that are relied upon are without merit," said Myburgh.
"It isn't clear with me that Mrs Gigaba is saying that she's not cooperating with the commission," Myburgh added.
After considering the arguments made before him, the commission's chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, dismissed Gigaba's application.
"The long and short is that Mrs Gigaba may give evidence and will do so in the open."
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