Former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration is a moment of deep reflection for the governing ANC, which will hold a national executive committee meeting this weekend.
Small and sporadic protests followed Zuma’s arrest and committal to the Estcourt Correctional Services Centre late on Wednesday to serve 15 months in jail for contravening a court order to testify before the state capture inquiry.
The protests demanding the release of Zuma involved a blockade of toll crossings in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
While Zuma tried everything to stay out of jail, including a threat that his supporters would form a human chain around him and multiple legal challenges, in the end, his Stalingrad tactics reached their limit and he handed himself over for arrest.
ANC KwaZulu-Natal chair Sihle Zikalala, who raised concerns about Zuma’s arrest, fearing political instability in the province, responded to developments on Thursday saying he had not turned his back on Zuma. “As a province we are caught in the middle. I will raise my concerns within the structures of the ANC,” Zikalala said.
Former ANC and UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said Zuma going to jail was an important milestone in constitutional rule. “If we can arrest a person who was the president, there can be no fear to arrest anyone else. The arrest of uMsholozi should send shivers down the spine of others who are in government that have abused their office. The entire saga has led to confidence in our court system,” Holomisa said.
Carl Niehaus, spokesperson of the disbanded Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association, claimed that disgruntled ANC members would not go down without a fight.
“Zuma’s supporters ... will continue to mobilise and fight this. This is not the end, this is only the beginning of the resistance, we will become much stronger,” Niehaus said, shortly before his own arrest outside the prison for contravening Covid-19- 19 lockdown restrictions.
He has been temporarily suspended from the ANC and faces disciplinary action for mobilising against the party.
Cheryl Carolus, a former ANC deputy secretary-general and now a prominent member of the Defend Democracy Campaign, said it is time to move on.
“We can put this unpleasant saga behind us.
“The rule of law applies equally, the culture of immunity has been given a big knock ... we have averted a very ugly [situation] and possibly a blood stain on our constitutional democracy. I am enormously grateful that he [Zuma] handed himself over,” Carolus said.
As an offender serving a sentence of less than 24 months, Zuma may apply for parole after serving a quarter of his sentence, said justice minister Ronald Lamola, who made a statement outside the prison where he visited Zuma.
Lamola confirmed that Zuma would be kept in a hospital ward for now. “This is not a moment of celebration and triumphalism. It is a moment of restraint and to be human,” he said.
Estcourt was selected for Zuma’s confinement because of its various advantages, including its proximity to his Nkandla homestead, which would “allow for a dignified incarceration”, Lamola said.
He ruled out the possibility of Zuma being immediately moved to a correctional service house, citing “eligibility” in terms of correctional service policies.
Asked if Zuma was wearing orange overalls, Estcourt prison head Mpumi Hadebe quickly replied: “Of course, of course.” Hadebe said that Zuma, like other inmates, would enjoy access to television and a public telephone.
Phiko Mbambo, the acting prisons operations manager in KwaZulu-Natal, said prison officials, not personal guards, would manage Zuma’s security.
Former director-general in the presidency Frank Chikane said he had no issue with 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 that Zuma’s 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,” Chikane said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.