Anna Majavu

Anna Majavu

A group of high-profile individuals are set to ask the constitutional court to force President Kgalema Motlanthe, pictured, to appoint a commission of inquiry into the arms deal.

Cape Town attorney Charles Abrahams is likely to be instructed by the group this morning to bring a case against Motlanthe on the grounds that he "has failed to fulfil a constitutional obligation" to uphold democracy.

This after Motlanthe yesterday rejected the call that he appoint a commission to probe the arms deal.

The high-profile signatories to the petition include Cape Town Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, former world bank boss Mamphela Ramphele, activists Terry Crawford-Browne and Rhoda Kadalie.

Motlanthe's spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said the president was convinced that a commission would not be an appropriate tool to investigate the arms deal.