Zuma’s threat is a boomerang
DISGRACED former president Jacob Zuma is taking aim at his critics, warning that he should not be “provoked” – or else he will spill the beans.
Zuma, who said he is fed up with having his name dragged through the mud, last Friday warned those who continue to speak ill of him to desist from doing so. “They said I was corrupt. I know some of them are corrupt and I am warning that I will start speaking about their business. It won’t be fun‚ someone who was once seen as a saint … people will find out a lot about them.”
He was speaking outside the Durban High Court where a group of his supporters had gathered, among them Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association members who believe the charges against Zuma are “political manipulation”. He appeared in court last Friday where he faces 16 charges of fraud, money laundering and racketeering relating to the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal. His threat to expose unnamed persons was the second in as many days. Zuma issued the same warning to his detractors last Wednesday, saying he was no longer president where “I have to be very careful how to handle things”.
His comments were seemingly in response to SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande’s utterances that the former president was at the heart of what he termed a “fightback” campaign. It comes amid talks of a new political formation in KwaZulu-Natal by those who support the former president. Zuma said he would not leave the ANC, a declaration Nzimande slammed as being “not enough”.
It appears that Zuma has now thrown down the gauntlet and is willing to air dirty laundry in public if his buttons continue to be pushed. As the former head of state, there is very little doubt that he may be privy to details of underhand dealings and shenanigans.
While the public may wonder who these individuals are Zuma is threatening to expose and exactly what it is that he holds over them, it is also clear that for nearly a decade, the country was led by a morally bankrupt person. The former president is essentially admitting to being aware of corrupt dealings, which directly goes against the very constitution he solemnly vowed to uphold. How can he justify sitting idly by while rampant corruption spread through his administration – probably at the expense of the millions of South Africans he was elected to serve?
This suggests that he is and was as corrupt as those he claims to have dirt on. Basically, he was complicit to their corruption. The role of the president is to “uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law of the republic” and “promote the unity of the nation and that which will advance the republic”.
By turning a blind eye he has failed to honour these duties and responsibilities. It remains to be seen if Zuma will act on his threats. Chances are he won’t. After all, the Constitutional Court found Zuma to have violated the constitution.
Maybe we expected too much from him. What his threats expose is the Zuma we have come to know - unrepentant, arrogant and disrespectful of the rule of law and of the constitution. He must just subject himself to the courts and let them rule on his innocence or guilt.