The Jacob Zuma circus came to town again this week. The former president was due to appear in the Pietermaritzburg high court on Tuesday on graft charges relating to the multibillion-rand arms deal, but did not arrive. Instead his lawyer, Dan Mantsha, handed a sick note to judge Dhayanithie Pillay as an explanation for his client’s absence.
It was known before the court appearance that Zuma would not be attending as he was receiving medical treatment overseas, but the court, as in any other criminal case, needed medical documentation to prove this. Pillay was not satisfied with the documentation that was given or Mantsha’s lack of answers to her questions.
In the end she issued a warrant of arrest for Zuma, but stayed it until May 6 when he is next expected in court. This means police will not be on the hunt for Zuma just yet, and if he arrives at court on the next scheduled date or provides satisfactory medical documents he will not find himself behind bars.
It is not unusual for a court to issue a warrant of arrest when an accused does not arrive in court. One of SA’s best-known celebrities, Bonang Matheba, had a warrant of arrest issued against her when she failed to appear in the specialised commercial crimes court in 2019. It too was held over until she was next expected in court, and if she did not appear she would be arrested.
Pillay made a point of saying on Tuesday that the day before she had issued a warrant for an accused in another case who had also not arrived and that everyone is equal before the law. But this is not about the arrest warrant and whether it was right or wrong for Pillay to issue it. It is rather about the disrespect for the rule of law, the judiciary and blatant threats of death to anyone who dares arrest Zuma.
Predictably, people came to Zuma’s defence, accusing the courts of being unfair to the former president and using all kinds of emotive adjectives. The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in the Free State took a threatening stance: “President Zuma must resubmit another medical certificate on May 6 2020 and we will provide them with the address where they can find him. We shall be waiting in numbers for them, and we shall welcome them in a manner and character they shall never live to explain,” it said. The statement ended with: “This is not a threat but a nice and calm reality.”
This was followed by a statement from the ANC national youth task team, which was set up to help take the ANCYL to its national conference and get it back on track. This was just as scathing of the courts, saying that for more than a decade the state has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Zuma is guilty of any crime, and that this is proof that there is a mission to destroy what is left of him and his dignity. “The SA judiciary has since turned itself into a public opinion arena. Its conduct is highly questionable.”
And then another threat: “We warn the judiciary and its friends. Do not threaten the peace of our country. Do not threaten the patience of our people. If you start a fire, you are bound to see flames.”
At face value this just seems like noise from an organisation that has done nothing in almost eight years, since Julius Malema left its ranks, and has become irrelevant.
But what is worrying about the ANC youth task team statement is that there are ministers — such as justice minister Ronald Lamola, transport minister Fikile Mbalula, minister of sports, arts & culture Nathi Mthethwa and public service & administration minister Senzo Mchunu — who sit on the task team. Members also include state security deputy minister Zizi Kodwa and finance deputy minister David Masondo.
These are officials who should be leading by example and ensuring the rule of law is adhered to, but their silence on the task team statement seems like a tacit endorsement. They need to condemn the statement if this is not the case.
Also worrisome is the ANC’s lack of leadership to rein in its structures. All the party did was send out a statement calling for the public to exercise patience and allow Zuma and the courts to deal with the matter. There was no mention of the threats by some of its own members, who are threatening social unrest because of one man.
In stark contrast to this, the governing party was quick to chastise finance minister Tito Mboweni for tweeting that he did not believe the ANC took the right decision at its conference to nationalise the SA Reserve Bank. But on this issue nothing even close to that.
This is not the leadership SA’s already fragile society deserves, and the ANC will have to do a lot more to prove that it still has any respect left for the constitution, which gave birth to SA’s democracy, and that it understands that everyone is equal before the law. This is not Animal Farm.
If the party is going to continue sitting on its hands when its members attack the courts while the never-ending saga of Zuma’s corruption trial continues, it might be time to charge people for scandalising the courts. It is, after all, a crime, and might give those who claim to be willing to go to jail for Zuma something to think about.
• Quintal is political editor.
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