POLL | Should those who abuse power be jailed?

State capture inquiry chairperson and acting chief justice Raymond Zondo’s calls for those who abuse power to be criminally charged and imprisoned or fined has sparked huge debate.

Zondo made the recommendation in part 2, volume 2, of the state capture inquiry report handed to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday.

He suggested abuse of power carry a maximum penalty of a fine of up to R200m or 20 years in prison, or both. 

Zondo said all public officials should be held to account, from the president to “a junior official who suspends a colleague out of motives of envy or revenge”.

Several high-profile politicians and businesspeople have been implicated in the first two parts of the report.

These include former president Jacob Zuma, former ministers Malusi Gigaba and Lynne Brown, ex-Transnet bosses Brian Molefe, Siyabonga Gama and Anoj Singh, Gupta lieutenants Salim Essa and Eric Wood, and financial services company Regiments Capital.

Former SA Revenue Service commissioner Tom Moyane, controversial former SAA bosses Dudu Myeni and Yakhe Kwinana, and former Government Communications Information System CEO Mzwanele Manyi have also been implicated.

The last part of the report will be handed to the president at the end of the month, with Ramaphosa expected to brief parliament on June 30 regarding the steps he will take to implement the inquiry’s recommendations.