‘Once more unto the breach, compatriots, once more.’ The Constitutional Court’s decision to jail Jacob Zuma for 15 months because of his refusal to appear before the state capture inquiry is a stunning reaffirmation of the rule of law, a sharp rebuke of a strongman former president, and a shot across the bows for anyone else intent on ravaging the country.
There can be no doubt for Zuma and his ilk that their days are numbered ... However, it must be noted that Zuma has not been found guilty of any of the other crimes for which he has been charged.
There can be no doubt for Zuma and his ilk that their days are numbered, as a result of the apex court decision.
However, it must be noted that Zuma has not been found guilty of any of the other crimes for which he has been charged or of which he might be suspected.
We must also guard against a hubris-fuelled belief that holding Zuma to account will magically overturn the appalling state of affairs into which our country sank in every arena during the watch of his and his comrades in the ANC.
For now, Zuma’s crime – despite its significant ramifications for himself and the country — is a very narrow one of refusing to comply with the order of judge Raymond Zondo to answer questions before the commission, a civil forum which ought to hold no fear for anyone intent on telling the truth.
That failure to appear before Zondo followed his efforts over two decades to avoid facing criminal charges in the arms deal saga, albeit he repeatedly claimed that he wanted his day in court.
The truth is that Zuma cannot come clean, not because he is pathologically incapable of doing so but because, by answering truthfully under oath in any sphere, he might be forced into incriminating himself in grievous wrongdoing against the state.
It is a great sadness that our courts, once more, have been forced to shore up the basic tenets of our constitutional democracy
It is a great sadness that our courts, once more, have been forced to shore up the basic tenets of our constitutional democracy, including the principle that nobody is above the law and that, in reality, in this democratic era, we all are equal before the law.
The validation of the highest court’s judgment is not whether Zuma will present himself to the Nkandla police station on Sunday. We can expect the master strategist and quintessential victim to continue seeking a way out of his predicament, including attempting to galvanise South Africans to go into battle for him.
Instead, the acid test will be the extent to which we, the people, get behind the constitution, get behind the courts, get behind this judgment, and tell Zuma and every other leader who has broken the law and failed us, "hamba ejele".
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