South Africa P.I.G.: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

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Getting to know the real Jacob Zuma

The latest controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma illustrates a consistent thread running through his presidency: power abuse. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HJrO_kjBJOnHNw1RrbD57iypM1sCZfvRMbP2_4T-1KhguMzJ72I5QSEwSKpvsMiaIxE4cJDzC7Kc8Q6H1cPICwCwgE3_kisOGm57rh9LYbVIqTzyAQEWHrW720grXqpX-aR7nR3x6_0/s1600-h/ancposter5475.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439733198991668434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HJrO_kjBJOnHNw1RrbD57iypM1sCZfvRMbP2_4T-1KhguMzJ72I5QSEwSKpvsMiaIxE4cJDzC7Kc8Q6H1cPICwCwgE3_kisOGm57rh9LYbVIqTzyAQEWHrW720grXqpX-aR7nR3x6_0/s400/ancposter5475.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 291px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Zuma believes he is above the law and social norms. He believes that - by virtue of his position - he can get away with anything. One of his close political associates summed it up the other day when he said, in conversation: Jacob Zuma has a mandate from 11 million people so he can do what he likes. This attitude applies to Zuma's financial dealings, his relationships with women, and to his relationship with his citizens. If any institution of state gets in his way, it is effectively neutered. If any government campaign requires him to change his behaviour, it is ignored. Behind his undoubted warmth and charm, this is the real Jacob Zuma. It is also the real ANC. This is how the ANC understands and uses power. We have, during the past year, witnessed the cynical manipulation that has turned the National Prosecuting Authority and the Judicial Service Commission into extensions of the ANC to protect President Zuma. The Zuma clique in the ruling party does not seem to grasp that, in a constitutional democracy, ruling parties and their leaders are not above the law or social norms. They may not ignore their own policies. They must be held to account. And they must lead by example. So what has this got to do with the birth of Jacob Zuma's 20th child? Everything. Firstly, Zuma does not consider himself bound by the norms of safe sex that he exhorts his fellow citizens to follow. It is worth repeating what he said in December last year on World Aids Day: "Prevention is our most powerful weapon against the epidemic… All South Africans should take steps to ensure that they do not become infected, that they do not infect others and that they know their status. Each individual must take responsibility for protection against HIV...It does not mean that we should be irresponsible in our sexual practices. It does not mean that people do not have to practice safer sex. It does not mean that people should not use condoms consistently and correctly during every sexual encounter. We can eliminate the scourge of HIV if all South Africans take responsibility for their actions." Quite clearly, there is one norm for Jacob Zuma and another for everybody else. This attitude is rooted in the same assumptions that justify his destruction of independent state institutions that seek to call him to account on legal matters against him. After all, he has a mandate from 11 million people. He can do what he likes. Secondly, the birth of his little girl in October last year neatly illustrates his abuse of power as a husband. This baby was conceived between two marriages. No culture, polygamous or otherwise, justifies cheating on your wife/wives. This is confirmed by cultural expert Ndela Nelson Ntshangase of the University of KwaZulu-Natal: "Polygamy allows all children to be born into a family, to have access to both parents, unlike an illegitimate child…If a child is born out of wedlock... the illegitimate child is in a vulnerable position, she is standing on a slippery slope because the child is born into a broken family." And yet, Zuma has tried to appeal to culture to defend himself. Like the race card, Zuma and the ANC play the culture card to try and silence legitimate criticism. This opportunistic strategy is actually an abuse of culture. Indeed, it is part of Zuma's pattern of power abuse. And it justifies further abuse of that culture by his supporters. As Julius Malema said: "We are Africans, we cannot discuss the private affairs of our elders and Zuma is a father to us all." The fact is, promiscuity and philandering are not part of Zulu culture, they are in conflict with it. As cultural analyst, Nomboniso Gasa points out: "According to the cultural milieu to which Malema refers, leadership is earned every day. Ukuzeyisa nobungcathu - self-control, discipline, modesty about one's desires are critical qualities of leadership." We cannot allow appeals to culture, especially when they are self-servingly distorted, to stop legitimate criticism of an elected leader who is accountable for his actions. Zuma can, and must, be called to account for private actions that have public consequences, particularly when those consequences are so profound. The truth is that Zuma has set us back at least a decade in the fight against HIV/Aids. His actions will have a far more negative impact than even the Aids denialism of Thabo Mbeki. Getting bogged down in esoteric theories and quack science would have had far less impact on people's behaviour, than a leader who by his own example, justifies unprotected sex. The inevitable response of millions of young men will be: "If the President can do it so can I." This attitude undermines the entire edifice of the government's HIV/Aids programme. It will destroy many lives. And it will cost the taxpayers millions in treating people who contract HIV/AIDS as a result. There is a clear parallel between Zuma's attitude to HIV/AIDS and his corruption trial. By manipulating the criminal justice system to ensure that he never had to answer the allegations against him in court, he sent out the message that it is okay to be corrupt. It is nobody's culture to justify corruption. In his admission yesterday, Zuma railed against "opportunistic" critics for encroaching on an "intensely private" matter that does not consider the rights of the child. Really? How touching. One has to ask: To what extent has his behavior considered the rights of this child, his other children, or every other South African child? One of the root causes of social disintegration in our country is the failure of so many fathers to take responsibility for their children. Absent fathers rob children of a present parent. Often, they deprive a family of a crucial income source to give children the opportunities they deserve in life. Zuma is sending out a message that it is okay to father as many children as you want, whatever the social consequences and burden on the state. The difference is that the average single-parent cannot afford to look after 20 children. Indeed, it is questionable whether even Jacob Zuma - on a President's salary - can do so either. Questions need to be asked about where he gets the money to support all his wives and children, but that is another issue for another day. It may have been feasible in a by-gone rural era, for 20 children of a single father to be properly cared for, nurtured and mentored in an extended family network. In a fragmented urban environment, it is not possible. The children inevitably suffer the consequences. It is nobody's culture to diminish their children's chances in life. Many of Zuma's actions demonstrate the ANC's belief that there is one law for themselves, and another for the rest of South Africa. Zuma can get way with things that ordinary people can't. Not only this, he is shielded from the consequences of his actions. This is power abuse, pure and simple. If there is anything positive about this episode, it is that South Africa is getting to know the real Jacob Zuma, beyond the charm. The honeymoon, (in the figurative sense at least), is over! Helen Zille

Getting to know the real Jacob Zuma

The latest controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma illustrates a consistent thread running through his presidency: power abuse . Zuma b...

3:31 PM

Zuma’s bulldozer

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnSedlSkKuEu7t_yBufIXhJ7YVIAEfGyE4uwyQLlvTjsUAEsGuOEFHQMNROYoFTB1i9kj-yk9x8OokLnDE03l8-cOlKA5eZUXk2KiSgij_d_K8rHzOVit4ER17d8xp6wpFDcAj3mVLL0/s1600-h/jeff-radebe02.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378017673512599250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnSedlSkKuEu7t_yBufIXhJ7YVIAEfGyE4uwyQLlvTjsUAEsGuOEFHQMNROYoFTB1i9kj-yk9x8OokLnDE03l8-cOlKA5eZUXk2KiSgij_d_K8rHzOVit4ER17d8xp6wpFDcAj3mVLL0/s400/jeff-radebe02.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 296px" /></a>Jeff Radebe is emerging as the Essop Pahad of Jacob Zuma’s administration: a bullying fixer who is deployed to push through crude solutions to political obstacles. Pahad was adept at using the jargon of revolution to manufacture consent. Radebe is the purveyor of a cynical and dangerous populism -- usually couched in the language of transformation -- that serves as cover for efforts to entrench a culture of compliance. The outcome of the Hlophe matter is testimony to Radebe’s unblushing style of blunt manipulation -- and should be the backdrop against which we should assess the credibility of the Zuma government’s professed commitment to judicial independence and the rule of law. No sooner had he been appointed as minister of justice than Radebe waded into the Judicial Service Commission, postponing its sitting on the pretext of addressing transformation. Instead, he used the delay to appoint four new members acceptable to the Zuma administration. Zuma’s candidates seemed to have been chosen based on a shrewd assessment of their susceptibility to manipulation. Of course we heard nothing about Radebe’s deliberations on transformation. His new team, as predicted, back-pedalled on the decision that Hlophe should face a formal hearing and be cross-examined. Instead there was a “preliminary inquiry” -- initially intended to be behind closed doors -- which allowed Hlophe to put forward his colourful version of events and schmooze his most ambivalent accuser, Judge Chris Jafta. This gave Radebe the opening to craft Hlophe’s dubious absolution, backed by his three nominees (Dumisa Ntsebeza had earlier appeared for Hlophe and recused himself) and by Marumo Moerane, an advocate whose legal career has been so closely tied to the executive that he could almost be regarded as a civil servant. It is significant that the only two sitting judges on the panel -- both black -- are understood to have voted for a formal hearing to go ahead. It is an open question whether Radebe was motivated by a desire to save Hlophe, or whether the Cape judge president merely served as a useful tool for taming and compromising the JSC. This week Radebe’s skills were on display again as he briefed Parliament’s defence committee as chairperson of the national conventional arms control committee. Radebe rebuked attempts by Democratic Alliance MP David Maynier to elicit detailed explanations about some of our more controversial recent arms deals -- such as the delivery of ammunition to Zimbabwe and the sale of sniper rifles to Syria -- claiming he had provided sufficient information. “It would not be appropriate to go into every transaction we have authorised and not authorised,” he sniffed. And to back him up there was a chorus of outrage from the ANC at Maynier’s temerity in supposedly jeopardising national security by disclosing some details about the sales. Committee chairperson Mnyamezeli Booi ruled Maynier out of order and, after the meeting, ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga issued a statement saying he would ask Speaker Max Sisulu to remove Maynier from the committee for illegally obtaining and disclosing classified information. Rubbish. He was doing his parliamentary duty. The short resurgence of independence and accountability that occurred during the closing months of the Mbeki era appears to have been smothered -- and Radebe is among the most dangerous of the new mandarins.

Zuma’s bulldozer

Jeff Radebe is emerging as the Essop Pahad of Jacob Zuma’s administration: a bullying fixer who is deployed to push through crude solutions ...

8:59 AM

Dept of Justice missing transcripts could free hundreds of prisoners

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXx9e23HwVUEWDvKXqrk1pXnIN_BTl75HzQWEQPe3jI8B1_17MjwY_SY-eGIWIBCbmL1ijaK95KDlCf5YH-15oCrjEd7h5SgwJIBlGa9NWpwO8STY8OCqOFxDCkAaQDI59lRM-JjDrUM/s1600-h/Monkies_in_library.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370572208180614466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXx9e23HwVUEWDvKXqrk1pXnIN_BTl75HzQWEQPe3jI8B1_17MjwY_SY-eGIWIBCbmL1ijaK95KDlCf5YH-15oCrjEd7h5SgwJIBlGa9NWpwO8STY8OCqOFxDCkAaQDI59lRM-JjDrUM/s400/Monkies_in_library.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 315px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>Hundreds of prisoners, convicted of serious crimes including murder, could be freed due to bureaucratic bungling. At least 400 serious offenders could walk out of jail because the transcripts of their trials have apparently been lost by the Department of Justice or are "inaccessible" - and a judge could set aside their convictions and sentences and let them go. They would be freed because their constitutional right to appeal had been infringed. They are all prisoners trying to appeal their convictions and/or sentences before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), or petitioning the SCA for leave to appeal, but neither of these can be done without transcripts. Lawyers are struggling to draft the necessary petitions because, according to a leaked internal memo of Legal Aid SA (Lasa), previously the Legal Aid Board, "the Department of Justice and its officially-appointed transcribers have been unable to provide" certain required records to Lasa attorneys. The memo continues: "It was recommended to Lasa management some time ago that action be instituted against the Department of Justice to force them to provide us with the records we require, alternatively to have the sentences of our clients affected by this problem set aside on the basis that clients are being denied their rights to appeal due to the actions or omissions of the department." The justice department is aware of the situation and its representatives are, with those of Lasa, trying to find "a solution". The 400 prisoners referred to are in the Gauteng area alone and the number applies only to prisoners whose cases are being handled by Lasa. In other words, there might be thousands, not just hundreds, of missing transcripts. According to Brian Nair, the national operations executive of Lasa, difficulties related to obtaining records have been going on for two years. Another senior official at Lasa, who did not want to be identified, said: "We're going softly-softly on this, we're trying to be as understanding as possible about the department's problems, even though we represent the prisoners, because we know that it would not exactly be a boon to society if hundreds of criminals were released on a technicality. "Still, something needs to be done by the department quickly, or 400 criminals could be released - not for the correct reasons. We are all between a rock and a hard place," he said. Of the 440 "problematic" petitions that Lasa attorneys are working on in Gauteng, in 200 matters there are no transcripts available and, in the other 240 matters, the attorneys have been told that they had requested information that was simply "not available". Nair confirmed that in many cases, Lasa had requested "as long ago as 18 months, the transcript of proceedings from the transcriber, but have not yet received a particular transcript". Lasa's Johannesburg Justice Centre, he said, "had requested transcripts in approximately 200 matters over the past 24 months, none of which have been received". Nair said that Lasa had not yet initiated any court application against the Department of Justice. The nub of the matter appears to be that the company that won the most recent tender for transcription services, LOM Business Solutions, has been unable to access, technically as well as physically, cases captured by the previous contractor. But Obakeng Masenamela, the managing director of LOM, denied that his company was culpable. He conceded that his company could not supply certain transcripts, but said the cause was twofold. "First, the Department of Justice has been unable to give us the necessary audio tapes - so obviously we cannot transcribe them," said Masenamela. "Second," he continued, "the previous contractor has failed to hand over certain material for which it was responsible and/or in some cases our machines and theirs are not compatible." The prisoners trying to petition the SCA, the ones dealing with Lasa, were the people on the bottom rung of the whole system, said Golden Miles Bhudu, the chairman of South African Prisoners for Human Rights. "They do not have the luxury of appointing private lawyers and they depend entirely on legal aid attorneys, who themselves have such a big backlog. "So they are not a priority - and then, when their transcripts have been lost, well, they sit around for years." Louis Hanekom, the acting director of court operations for the Department of Justice, said the department could only respond to "allegations" if it was given full particulars about each of the missing transcripts.

Dept of Justice missing transcripts could free hundreds of prisoners

Hundreds of prisoners, convicted of serious crimes including murder, could be freed due to bureaucratic bungling. At least 400 serious offen...

6:12 AM

South Africa P.I.G.

Getting to know the real Jacob Zuma

Zuma’s bulldozer

Dept of Justice missing transcripts could free hundreds of prisoners

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