A former president’s theatrics mask a stealthy attempt to retake power

The politics of paranoia took centre stage at the Zondo commission this week, and left SA reeling. If Jacob Zuma is to be believed, the ANC entrusted its most crucial structures in exile and key positions in the government, post-1994, to double agents who betrayed their own comrades to apartheid forces. Not a shred of evidence was presented to support these claims. But this is Zuma we are talking about, so let us not pretend we are surprised. This is the man who as president received and accepted a dubious “intelligence” report that named Pravin Gordhan, who was the minister of finance at the time, and Nhlanhla Nene, his deputy, as masterminds behind a plot to overthrow him. Instead of laughing off what was clearly a figment of someone’s imagination, Zuma chose to believe the farfetched conspiracy and even tried to persuade ANC leaders of its authenticity. So convinced was Zuma that he based his decision to axe the two on its contents.

Now when he sits before the Zondo commission and alleges a plot hatched 30 years ago by three intelligence agencies, working with his own comrades in the ANC, to “assassinate my character”, rest assured he’s paranoid enough to believe it. He has convinced his supporters to believe it too and together they are baying for blood.

While he leads the theatrics from the front, it is those working in the shadows, behind the scenes, who we should most be worried about. Zuma and his fan club in the ANC never accepted defeat. When their candidate, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, lost at Nasrec, they grudgingly conceded. But those in the know say instead of demobilising and rallying behind the newly elected leadership, they have regrouped in dark corners and are mapping a cunning way to recapture the ANC and, by extension, the state.

To succeed, they need the assistance of the two key offices in their corner — that of the ANC secretarygeneral and, perhaps most important, that of the public protector. So far, the plan seems to be working. ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has contradicted the

Ramaphosa leadership collective at every turn, leaving them constantly to put out the fires he keeps setting. It took a concerted damage-control exercise to calm market panic when Magashule deliberately misinterpreted a decision of an ANC lekgotla as having instructed the South African Reserve Bank to engage in quantitative easing to boost economic growth.

Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has acted in a manner that leaves very little doubt as to where her loyalties lie. Her relentless pursuit of Gordhan in relation to the establishment of the so-called rogue unit and a retirement package for a former deputy tax commissioner are yet to be tested in court, so we will reserve our own judgment on these. However, the timing of the release of her report on a donation to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign for the ANC presidency is very convenient for the faction working to undermine the president. Her finding that he deliberately misled parliament about the donation from Bosasa’s Gavin Watson, and violated his oath of office as a result, is serious enough to warrant calls for his impeachment. Ramaphosa will naturally challenge this devastating finding in court — but between now and the day the courts decide, Mkhwebane has placed in doubt the integrity of the highest office in the land.

Wherever they are, Zuma and his cronies must be popping that champagne they stashed on ice the moment Ramaphosa started tripping over himself on the Bosasa donation. This newspaper previously reported that the Zuma crew had regrouped in parliament and were planning to populate key committees, especially the justice portfolio committee to which Mkhwebane accounts, with loyalists. The intention was to thwart any attempts to remove her from office. It almost worked. Today we report that the public protector has warned the speaker of the National Assembly to halt any planned probes into her fitness for office or she’s off to court. With each day that passes, the endgame becomes clearer and clearer.

We should be most worried about those working behind the scenes