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.

Khampepe j
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
21 November 2012

“I am so afraid. I have never stolen anything from anybody. Now I am being accused of stealing a piece of land. I have papers to prove that the government has approved the deed of sale. We are prepared to pay market value for this land and we are pleading with the government to not demolish our homes but to negotiate a settlement. I have R50 000 in the frozen bank account of the fraudster who was arrested – that can go to the government for the land. We did not know we were involved in a fraudulent deal. As it is I have taken out personal loans, bank loans…how will we pay these back while our homes are demolished?” – Nonhlanhla Pholo, whose house in Lenasia is earmarked for demolition, quoted by Gillian Schutte at SACSIS

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