Zuma planning ‘soft coup’ to topple government after elections

To his supporters asking what has he done, this is what Jacob Zuma has done.

Zuma has mastered the art of manipulating black voters by depicting himself as a victim of powerful forces who do not want him to hold public office. In his mind, he is the saviour of his people.

His diehard supporters are still asking wenzeni uZuma? (What has Zuma done?), and he responds by saying he has done nothing wrong. He continues to portray himself as a victim who is clueless about the reasons for his “persecution”.

Zuma claims not to understand why he was fingered for corruption in the multibillion-rand 1999 arms deal. Yet his financial adviser, Schabir Shaik was jailed after soliciting a bribe on Zuma’s behalf from Thint, the local subsidiary of French company Thales. Shaik was jailed for 15 years in 2005, but released on medical parole in 2009.

President Cyril Ramaphosa shocked everyone when he said he “believed” the late Fezekile Kuzwayo when she alleged Zuma raped her. Zuma was acquitted, and then became the president of South Africa. Zuma, again, portrayed himself as the victim of powerful hidden forces.

As state president, he helped the ANC to run the country into the ground by going on a stealing spree with the controversial Gupta family. These actions undermined the sovereignty of the country.

A commission of inquiry to investigate state capture that occurred on Zuma’s watch was shown that the president and his cabinet took their orders from the controversial Gupta family — now fugitives from the law. The brothers were, in reality, unelected government officials.

Do Zuma’s supporters remember the manner in which he used to hire and fire his ministers? He was carrying out the mandate of a corrupt, unelected family.

Zuma sympathisers still occupy high office, and the ANC has done little to root out corruption. Municipalities are still used as cash cows by some tenderpreneurs.

So the question should be: “What is Zuma doing now?” He is among those who made state corruption endemic.

Zuma undermined the authority of chief justice Raymond Zondo and the state capture inquiry by refusing to attend it. As a result, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. It is worrying that there are people willing to lay down their lives for a man whose children it encouraged others to steal food, electronic goods and other assets from shops in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal during the July 2021 unrest.

As usual, Zuma never condemned those who were “misusing his name” to further their own narrow interests. While playing the victim, he and his family lived in their secure and comfortable Nkandla home, enjoying luxuries such as a “fire pool”.

I find it difficult to believe anything associated with Zuma. He is not a man to be trusted. At the moment, he is planning a “soft coup” after this year’s elections — he knows his party will not even win KwaZulu-Natal with an outright majority. So he is going to do what the Kenyan “permanent” opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has done for so many years — not accept electoral defeat.

Kenneth Mokgatlhe, via e-mail

Elites think prison is for the poor

South Africans should be wary about celebrating the extrajudicial killing of suspects by the police. In a crime-riddled country like ours, citizens might feel that law enforcement officers are finally doing their work, but serious deficiencies in our police service, compounded by endemic corruption, cannot be resolved by the police simply killing suspects.

A well-trained police force should have been able to subdue and detain the nine suspects killed in KwaZulu-Natal recently. All manner of crime is on the increase. Our conviction rates are shockingly low and the state’s lackadaisical approach to corruption is now a source for the violence engulfing our country.

The situation in Port-au-Prince [the capital of Haiti] was triggered by corruption and the violence perpetrated by law enforcement officers.

Emotive statements by [police minister Bheki] Cele and politicians are a ploy to deflect attention from their abject failure to create an effective police force that can protect every citizen. Violent criminals are shot at while politically connected suspects are chauffeured to court with bail having been arranged for them in advance.

Former speaker Nosiviwe MapisaNqakula’s founding affidavit in her bail application shows that the elite regard prison as the preserve of the poor.

Practise what you preach

Barney Mthombothi once again hit the mark with his incisive opinion piece “Churches must again speak up against political evils” (Sunday Times, April 7). I would argue that what he says about Christian leaders and their followers applies equally to leaders and followers of all religious faiths in South Africa.

Great philosophers across the ages held the view that it was easier to talk about religion than to live by its teachings. If we could only practise a fraction of what we preach, we would all live better lives.

More power to your pen, Barney! Raj Isaac, Umdloti