We can’t tackle corruption with one eye open

IN 2005, then President Thabo Mbeki unceremoniously fired then Deputy President Jacob Zuma after the latter’s financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was convicted on charges of corruption and fraud.

The move sparked an internal revolt within the ANC which saw Mbeki ousted as the leader of the party in a bitter and bruising battle in Polokwane in 2007.

Zuma subsequently became president in 2009, and was at the helm of the governing party for two consecutive terms.

The Zuma presidency was marred by corruption, leading to the phenomenon of state capture.

The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, is currently under way, and has cost taxpayers around R700 million to date.

An all too familiar scene is starting to play itself out within the governing party after its secretary-general, Ace Magashule, was served with a warrant of arrest by the Hawks.

The office of the secretary-general in the ANC serves as the engine of the organisation and there are already talks of what the overall impact of his arrest will be on the rest of South Africa, especially if state organs were abused for political ends.

If Magashule broke the law, or if his lack of executive oversight on the asbestos contract in the Free State constitutes a crime, then he must be prosecuted under the remit of the South African Constitution, which also explicitly dictates that all citizens are innocent until proven guilty.

In South Africa, justice is blind, and in the spirit of realising that blind justice, others must also face the music.

There are accusations of money laundering during the CR17 campaign. There are also bank statements from this campaign in the public domain with the names of those who benefited. What type of tax laws this campaign transgressed still have not been tested, however.

In addition, former chief executive of Steinhoff, Markus Jooste, allegedly defrauded South African pensioners of more than R45 billion.

In this instance, what is good for the goose must clearly also be good for the gander.

Our justice system cannot approach issues of corruption with one eye open; the system must be blind, free and fair with no prejudice.