The ANC Women's League (ANCWL) on Thursday said it hoped that the terms of reference in the Commission of Inquiry set by Jacob Zuma would include all state owned entities(SOE'S) and date back pre-1994.
In a statement, ANCWL secretary-general Meokgo Matuba said: "ANCWL supports the fight against corruption in government and [the] private sector without fear or favour and firmly believes that the commission of inquiry will expose all those involved in fraud and corruption."
However, the statement also urged the inquiry to guard the presumption of innocence, and made it clear that the league believes the scope of state capture extends well beyond the president's widely alleged corruption over the past two decades.
"Section 35(3)(h) of the Bill of Rights guarantees for everyone the right to a fair trial, which includes the right to be presumed innocent at that trial until proven guilty," Matuba said. "The ANCWL has been consistent in calling for [a] full-scale investigation [of] the allegations of state capture instead of a narrow politically motivated investigation."
Matuba also said that the league supports Zuma's decision to appeal the court decision that he was personally liable for the legal costs of challenging certain parts of the public protector's report.
On December 13 last year, the Pretoria High Court held that Zuma must personally pay the costs of his bid to block the 2016 release of then-public protector Thuli Madonsela's report on state capture.
Zuma announced on Tuesday that he had appointed Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to head the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture.