The High Court in Pretoria has ordered that the Public Protector must publish the report on state capture by not later than 5pm on Wednesday.
Various news outlets reported that the court made this order after President Jacob Zuma withdrew his application to interdict the report, when his application was due to be heard earlier on Wednesday.
The court said the president should pay the costs of the withdrawal of the application on an attorney and client scale. The question of whether Zuma should pay these costs in his personal capacity was reserved.
The report, compiled by former Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela, is believed to expose the nature of the relationships between the president’s friends, the Gupta family, and himself, as well as several ministers.
The court also struck off the roll the application by Minister Des van Rooyen due to lack of urgency.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Congress of the People (Cope), Democratic Alliance (DA) and United Democratic Movement (UDM) had joined Mentor in opposing the matter, while Van Rooyen and Mosebenzi Zwane had joined to support Zuma.
The DA and the Economic Freedom Fighters were opposing Zuma’s interdict application to stop the release of the report and they also asked the court to order the public protector to release the report with immediate effect.
“The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the decision by President Zuma’s legal team to withdraw the frivolous and vexatious application to interdict the release of the Public Protector’s State Capture report.”
The DA also welcomed the decision by Zuma to withdraw his interdict application.
The party accused Zuma of playing delaying tactics. “From the outset, we have maintained that this application was without merit, and a malicious delaying tactic to halt the inevitable release of this report, which no doubt implicates the President. Indeed, yet another defeat in court for Jacob Zuma was inevitable.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said this was a victory for the party.
“We are team SA. We are a proud nation, committed to the values of democracy and our Constitution!” – Mmusi Maimane