Support for Zuma at court points to a herd mentality

THE appearance of former president Jacob Zuma at his corruption trial at the Pietermaritzburg High Court degenerated into nothing but an elaborate marketing campaign for a dissident faction of ANC supporters. Zuma insisted on having his day in court. The irony is the odds of a guilty verdict are high, but everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The strong support by various ANC leaders for Zuma, including suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, who was in defiance of the ANC NEC’s decision, spells a “herd attitude” by ANC supporters who turned up at the High Court.

It astounds me that Zuma and Magashule attract such strong support, despite the charges against them. Does the ANC not have a moral code in the rule of law? Does it spell another split in the ANC?

Zuma has pleaded not guilty, believing that he is being vilified, and Magashule is convinced that he’s been wrongfully suspended by the ANC’s NEC.

It seems that within ANC ranks, the more negative media attention you attract, the more you are supported by the herd.

In politics, there’s no such thing as negative or bad publicity. And if you tell the same lie enough times over, the masses will believe you.

Zuma states he believes that his defence made a “substantive case”, and the SA public wait with bated breath for the shenigans to play out when the trial resumes on July 19. COUNCILLOR MARK RH KLEINSCHMIDT | Ward 60, Lansdowne