Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters… He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”. Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws… It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
[M]any ministers are chosen not for their potential performance but instead for their anticipated nonperformance. Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel is a gifted trade union fall-guy chosen to build a department that will never have a role. Energy Minister Dipuo Peters’s remit seems limited to craven capitulation before a rampaging Department of Minerals. The minister of injustice, Jeff Radebe, has apparently been selected for his inability to control the new director of national nonprosecutions. – Anthony Butler in Business Day
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