Former director-general in the presidency Frank Chikane says he has no issue with former president Jacob Zuma getting a presidential pardon if he applies for it, but he must first admit to his mistakes.
Chikane, a vocal critic of the former president in recent years over state capture, told Business Day on Wednesday that if his old comrade admitted he had made mistakes, he should be considered for pardon.
“I did not think Zuma would go to jail for this. Corruption, yes; this, no,” Chikane said.
He said Zuma’s impending arrest was an important moment in the country’s fight against corruption. “Even if you are [in financial] trouble, if you have integrity, you will not be lured. I don’t understand a person in government being corrupt. There is no justification,” Chikane said.
He said he did not regret standing up and mobilising against Zuma but felt he should have done it sooner.
“We knew the country was getting into trouble from 2009; most considered it ANC business. As we got to 2014, 2015, we were all affected. First, white people started complaining to me, then black people. Eventually we were all stuck in a nightmare, we were paralysed against Zuma,” said Chikane.
His sentiments were uttered a few hours before Zuma’s court-ordered arrest by police was due to be enforced. Police minister Bheki Cele and police commissioner Khehla Sitole were ordered by the Constitutional Court to hand him in by midnight on Wednesday, since he did not hand himself in by the Sunday deadline he was given. The two are waiting to hear from the Constitutional Court for a final direction on whether to arrest Zuma.
The Constitutional Court last week sentenced Zuma to 15 months in jail for defying its order to testify before the state capture inquiry.
Chikane has urged Zuma to reflect on what he was standing up for and to realise he was being used by a group of disgruntled allies and supporters, and peacefully go to jail.
The former director-general was among those who exited public office after former president Thabo Mbeki’s recall in 2008 and Zuma’s inauguration as head of state in 2009. He is part of the Defend our Democracy movement, which mobilised against state capture when Zuma was in office.
“Zuma got caught in corruption: he did not steal from the government, but once that happened he was removed as deputy president [in 2005]. That is when the aggrieved rallied around him and he became a classical figure. I can’t say he was the kingpin — the Guptas are still a mystery. I believe it was a design; they accessed every leader and children of leaders,” Chikane said.
The Gupta brothers are friends of the former president and business partners of his son Duduzane. They are said to have benefited to the tune of billions of rand in tenders, contracts and preferential deals. They are also said to have wielded so much influence that allegations at the state capture commission were that they were involved in the appointment of ministers and heads of state-owned enterprises.
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