Real show of force by Zuma

FORMER president Jacob Zuma finally had his day in court yesterday – the first of many, few of which are likely to be as fleeting or as painless. He appeared in the Durban High Court yesterday on what veteran lead prosecutor Billy Downer wryly noted to Judge Themba Sishi was merely a re-continuation of the 2005 case that saw Zuma’s erstwhile financial adviser Schabir Shaik ultimately sentenced to 15 years on corruption charges.

Yesterday, though, was more than a legal formality, it marked a real show of force by the former president.

His many supporters ignored the ANC’s order not to drag the party into the issue by wearing official green, black and gold regalia, and several political leaders chose to be in Durban to show their support – and illustrate the uphill battle President Cyril Ramaphosa faces to keep the fractious ANC together.

To veteran Zuma watchers yesterday’s proceedings, from the obligatory singing of

(Bring me my machine gun) to playing the victim card, would have seemed like a flashback to the Johannesburg High Court in 2006, when Zuma was on trial for the rape of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, better known then as Khwezi.

Zuma was found not guilty in that trial, but the collateral damage wrought by many of today’s leaders, some of whom later came to regret their support, was very real to the advancement of gender relations and combating gender based violence.

The stakes are once again high.

There will doubtless be a concerted effort to try this case in the court of public opinion, spinning different narratives in the hope of influencing the outcome.

This is a dangerous gambit.

The law must take its course, the process must be followed, justice must be done without fear, favour or prejudice.