The Constitutional Court has found President Jacob Zuma guilty of breaking his oath of office – for failing to uphold the Constitution of South Africa.
One would think, following such a damning finding, that the president would show some semblance of honour and dignity, and resign.
But no, instead our illustrious leader thinks the people of this country are all stupid – and insults our collective intelligence with the lies he bandied about during his so-called ‘apology’ on Friday night.
I particularly loved the line from the president where he said he actually always intended to pay back some of the money spent on his private residence. If this were true, and the president had right from the start said he would pay back some of the money, why then did this saga end up in the Constitutional Court of South Africa?
No Mr President, we are not that stupid.
And as for that ‘apology’, it was more a case of blaming your legal counsel than actually accepting responsibility for your actions. Your actions that led to this entire saga being taken to the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Lest the president forget some of his utterances, following the Public Protector’s report which was released on March 19, 2014, I have decided to include some of his lines:
“President Jacob Zuma has spoken out for the first time since Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released a damning report on upgrades at his KwaZulu-Natal home, saying he never asked for them and will not pay back any money.” (source: https://ewn.co.za/2014/03/31/Nkandla-report-Zuma-says-he-wont-pay)
Remember the president’s ‘I did not ask for the upgrades so I won’t pay for them’ defence? But the president now claims he always intended to pay back the money.
Here is another one:
“Never have I ever thought on the date when I will pay back the money. Firstly, there is no money that I am going to be paying back without a determination by those who are authorised to do so as recommended by the Public Protector.” (souce: https://ewn.co.za/2015/03/11/Zuma-on-Nkanda-There-is-no-money-I-am-going-to-be-paying-back)
The Public Protector did indeed come up with a figure Mr President. You ignored her. Hence why this entire saga ended up in the Constitutional Court.
A quick Google search by anyone will reveal pages and pages of news articles all dealing with the president’s refusal to ‘pay back the money’. Again, it was for this very reason that the case was taken to the Constitutional Court.
And now the president stands before the nation, after being found guilty of breaking his oath of office, and LIES to the public! Does he really think the average intelligence of South Africans is so low that we would not remember? Or does he honestly believe that newspapers never keep records of past stories?
The president of the nation should be at the forefront of leading our nation. It is right and fitting that the president of the nation be held to a higher standard than the rest of the citizens. Why? Because he is the person responsible for the well-being of all the citizens of this country. It is up to the president to determine the path of the country and we simply cannot be led by a man who has broken his oath of office and cannot even take responsibility for his actions.
The president claims, or rather insinuated, that it was bad legal counsel that led him down the path of breaking his oath of office. But he conveniently ignores the fact that it was he who told the lawyer his stance – namely that he would not pay the money back. The lawyer was following the information provided to him from his client.
What on earth does the president think all those criminals in court pay lawyers for? Those lawyers are paid to get criminals off the hook. But if the criminal is found guilty of a crime, the criminal does not (and cannot) turn around and then claim the lawyer led him down the wrong path and gave the wrong advice. The fact is, the criminal broke the law and needed a lawyer to try escape jail time.
And it is no different now. The president refused to follow or adhere to the findings of the Public Protector. He was then forced to get legal advice regarding his stance. And now he wants to blame the lawyer after he was found guilty of doing something wrong.
And let us be clear – the president received a damning finding from all the judges hearing the case in the Constitutional Court. The finding was unanimous from the judges hearing the case. That should tell the president something – that all the judges found him guilty of breaking his oath.
But then, perhaps oaths mean nothing to the president. I did notice that even after the president’s ‘apology’ even the ANC seemed comfortable to be led by a man who breaks his oath of office.
I have mentioned numerous times in this piece the oath of office sworn by the president. But what exactly is contained in this oath?
Herewith is the oath of office for the President of the Republic of South Africa:
“In the presence of those assembled here and in full realisation of the high calling I assume as President/Acting President in the service of the Republic of South Africa I, A.B., do hereby swear/solemnly affirm to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa, and do solemnly and sincerely promise at all times to promote that which will advance and to oppose all that may harm the Republic; to obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other Law of the Republic; to discharge my duties with all my strength and talents to the best of my knowledge and ability and true to the dictates of my conscience; to do justice to all; and to devote myself to the well-being of the Republic and all its people.”
Allow me to draw your attention to the following piece: “…to obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other Law of the Republic…”
The Constitutional Court has found the president strayed from upholding the Constitution. So how, pray tell, can he still remain in office after such a transgression? How can the ANC state they are happy with a leader who cannot uphold the Constitution of this country?
Let us not forget all those people who were either imprisoned, tortured or who died to help build the very Constitution the president swore to uphold – and subsequently did not.
The ANC, and Pres Zuma himself, should be concerned that even the New York Times has entered into the fray, calling for his resignation.
In short, the president has brought the office of the presidency into disrepute. If the president had any inkling of honour, he would have tendered his resignation. But then, if the president was a man of honour the entire Nkandla saga would never have reached the Constitutional Court in the first place.
After watching the president’s apology on Friday night, and the subsequent comments from his buddies, I am reminded of a poster I saw in a pub once.
“I am somewhat of a bullshitter myself. But every now and then I love to sit back and listen to a real professional.”
South Africa faces a crisis of leadership – a crisis that can only be resolved through the ballot box. The problem is, some people may not have the patience and could resort to more violent means to remove the president of South Africa.
Hell, we even have the union for the National Defence Force, SANDU, calling for the president to step down. According to SANDU, members are unhappy over having a Commander-in-Chief who is an oath-breaker.
I think it would behove the president to remember that even the Defence Force swore defend the country in line with the Constitution.
If the ANC NEC is apparently so unconcerned about the violation of the Constitution of South Africa, one must now wonder what else they would consider acceptable?
What other transgressions of the Constitution, in the future, will be swept aside with false apologies and lies?
These questions, and more, must be considered by the voting masses of South Africa.
