Deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo says when a witness is summoned to appear before the state capture inquiry but does not, that is a criminal offence.Deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo has expressed irritation after a witness failed to appear before the state capture inquiry on Tuesday morning, despite being summoned.
The inquiry's evidence leader, Viwe Notshe SC, told Zondo on Tuesday morning that he had not seen Thomas at the inquiry's venue, despite a sheriff serving her with the summons on April 14. After a short adjournment, Notshe informed Zondo that a lawyer representing Thomas would appear before Zondo later in the day to request a postponement of her evidence.Zondo said the lawyer must appear with Thomas because she was served with a summons to be at the inquiry.
When Thomas appeared at 2pm, her lawyer asked for a postponement as the law firm needed time to deal with an affidavit sent to Thomas last week.