President Jacob Zuma on Thursday, told Parliament he would establish a judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of State capture as soon as a ruling has been handed down on his court challenge of former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on the funnelling of public funds to politically connected individuals.

Zuma is challenging Madonsela’s directive that he set up a commission of inquiry, to be headed by a judge appointed by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.

His lawyers have told the Pretoria High Court that Madonsela’s remedial action must be set aside as she did not have the power to order the president to institute a judicial inquiry.

“We are waiting for the judgment,” Zuma said while answering a question from Congress of the People MP Deirdre Carter in the National Assembly.

He claimed that “at one point” he had wanted to go ahead and establish the commission of inquiry but that his lawyers told him he could not, as the matter was sub judice.

“If the matter is in court, the same matter, the State capture report, I could not establish a commission of the same thing. Lawyers say it is a matter that is sub judice, heh. You want me to break the law? While the matter is in court, I establish a parallel process?” he added.

“I wanted to do that earlier more than anything else and I am ready, after the judgment I am going to establish it immediately. It is coming my dear, don’t worry.”

Zuma said his critics were wrong to say that he had failed to act on Madonsela’s report, titled “State of Capture”, that detailed suspect dealings between public companies and the business of the Gupta family.

“I then said the remedial action of the Public Protector was unconstitutional that I had to undertake and I took the report for the review, so I never sat and did nothing. I took action to review the report. I could not push the dates of court, that is out of my responsibility.”

He then threatened that a commission would not spare the political opposition.

“There had been too much talk about corruption, even those who are most corrupt they point the finger at the other. Corruption started long before 1994 on the wealth of the state, on the property of the state, so those who are calling for it are going to regret.”