Zuma must zoom off

SIR — Friday’s court ruling that the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to drop corruption charges against Jacob Zuma was irrational will divide the African National Congress (ANC) leadership even more and reopen the internal debate over whether the president should be removed from office.

The ANC has been plunged into crisis because of an undignified president who has become a liability to the movement. The Gauteng ANC’s stance that Zuma is a problem for the party has been vindicated. He needs to go because he is hurting the brand. The ANC is suffering a credibility crisis because of controversies aligned to its leader, not its own problems, and if it is not careful, it will reach a point of no return.

Those loyal to Zuma risk being rejected by the public because they will be tainted by his compromised legacy. ANC leaders cannot champion the party as the people’s saviour if they are plunged into moral decay because of the president.

Zuma resigned as deputy president during Thabo Mbeki’s administration to focus on this case. Now, if he really loves the ANC and wants to save it from humiliation and preserve his own dignity, he should step down again — no matter how much blind loyalists may try to convince him they are rallying behind him. This is no longer about his individual interests, but about the future of the country.

SA’s credibility in the international arena is far more important than the interests of Zuma and his cronies. The Constitutional Court ruling on the Nkandla matter, and this latest development, will have a severe effect on the ANC’s performance in the coming local elections — far worse than the effect recalling Zuma might have. Phaswana Rofhiwa Thohoyandou