With the ANC’s leadership having to confront the political fallout from former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration for refusing to account on state capture, insiders at the meeting of the party’s top brass at the weekend say the ANC will push ahead with its renewal agenda.
The meeting of the national executive committee (NEC) — the highest decision-making body between conferences — came as an angry mob torched vehicles, looted stores and clashed with police as demonstrations spread from Durban to Johannesburg on Sunday.
The streets of inner Johannesburg were littered on Sunday afternoon with broken bricks, glass, burning tyres and debris, with the police saying the M2 highway in the CBD was closed after protesters fired gun shots.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is said to have given ANC leaders his diagnosis of Zuma’s reluctance to surrender.
He said that the resulting sporadic riots were what should be expected after the state’s crackdown on corruption and impunity. According to insiders, Ramaphosa said the ANC would forge ahead with its renewal agenda, telling the meeting the party was making progress in cleansing itself.
In a televised speech later on Sunday on Covid-19 restrictions, Ramaphosa slammed the riots, saying they were damaging efforts to rebuild the economy.
“We will not tolerate any acts of criminality or vandalism, and those found guilty will be prosecuted,” he said, adding that there were indications that the acts of violence could be based on “ethnic mobilisation”.
Last week, the Constitutional Court sentenced the former president to 15 months in jail for contempt. He was jailed in Estcourt Correctional Centre after a warrant for his arrest was executed by the police after he failed to comply with an order of the Constitutional Court. His legal team is on Monday due to stand before SA’s apex court to argue for a mitigation of sentencing.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who has previously come out consistently to defend the rule of law, expressed her frustration in the NEC with Zuma’s arrest. Insiders say she suggested there was a judicial conspiracy against her former husband.
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, which is co-ordinating security and law enforcement operations in the country, said 62 people had been arrested since Friday. More than two dozen trucks were set alight on the N3 highway.
Lobby group Business Unity SA (Busa) urged Ramaphosa, who on Saturday condemned the violence and appealed for calm, to show leadership.
“We support the president in this, but urge the president to show decisive leadership in enforcing law and order and addressing the nation to send a clear message that the government will not waiver in its duty to protect people and property,” said Cas Coovadia, CEO of Busa.
Political analyst Sanusha Naidu said the civil unrest is not to be taken lightly. “The deeper issue for me is: how much of this is really linked to the support around Zuma?” she said.
Naidu highlighted the pronounced criminality, and said there was a “blurring of lines” between support for Zuma and creating instability.
“I think this is what chaos looks like when people want chaos to prove their point.” With TimesLIVE and Erin Bates
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