Quote of the week
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.
Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State v Zuma and Others (CCT 52/21) [2021] ZACC 18
In the course of his gluttonous plundering, “the movement” and/or individuals in “the movement” gained from these sordid dealings. Through all this, he was protected, like many other businessmen of his bent. The shadowy Majali was representative of a network of proxy businessmen and entities that serve ruling-party heavyweights in various sectors of the economy. Be they Chancellor House, Imvume or a host of smaller, but well-connected businesses at provincial and local levels, these proxies give the lie to the ruling party’s pronouncements on a tough anti-corruption stance. Unscrupulous businessmen and their political sponsors have been able to use the name of the party to strong-arm parastatals and government departments into giving them tenders. This network lies at the heart of the institutionalisation of corruption in our country. Sandi Majali has taken many dark secrets to the grave with him. What he did leave behind was a legacy of crookedness that goes deep into the heart of the ruling party, the state and the society. – Mondli Makhanya on Sandi Majali
