Former president Jacob Zuma in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Picture: Kim Ludbrook /AFP
Civil society has welcomed with open arms the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Jacob Zuma’s contempt case, celebrating the guilty finding against the former president – and the 15 months in jail he has been slapped with as a result – as striking a blow for justice and a sign that no one is above the law.
Speaking at a press briefing hosted by the Defend Our Democracy campaign yesterday afternoon, ANC veteran Mavuso Msimang said it was one for the history books.
“This is a really memorable day in the history of our country,” he said.
“It’s a day of rejoicing – not because somebody has gone to jail but because there has been a triumph of democracy over tendencies of aristocratism and things that don’t belong in South Africa”.
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The ConCourt yesterday morning ruled in favour of the state capture commission of inquiry in the contempt of court case it brought against Zuma over his refusal to take the hot seat, even with a court order in place directing him to do so.
While the apex court found Zuma was guilty of the crime, it stopped short of slapping him with the two-year prison sentence the commission had asked for.
Zuma has been given five days to hand himself over to police at either the Nkandla police station or the Johannesburg Central police station.
In the event he doesn’t, the court has also ordered Police Minister Bheki Cele and National Commissioner Khehla Sitole to within three days “take all steps that are necessary and permissible in law” to ensure Zuma is delivered to prison.
Former anti-apartheid political activist and ANC member Frank Chikane was also at the Defend Our Democracy briefing and also said it was “a great day for South Africa”.
He said the ruling established “the supremacy of the constitution and the fact that all of us are equal before the law”.
“It is unfortunate that the former president has to go to jail. But it could have been avoided by working within the confines of the constitution and the law. We expect everybody – all South Africans – to comply with the laws of this country,” he said.
Executive director of Corruption Watch Dave Lewis echoed these sentiments. Speaking from a hospital bed during the press conference, he quipped that “nothing could have made me feel better than hearing that beautifully crafted, ringing endorsement of our constitutional order”.
He believed Zuma had got his just deserts.
“For a long time, I doubted that he would, but Justice [Sisi] Khampepe showed us today what the courts are made of and what critically important institutions they are in the defence of our constitutional democracy,” he said.
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation also issued a statement.
“This ruling, which is unappealable, is a watershed. We have arrived at a pivotal moment in our history, one of which we can all be proud. In 1994, after hundreds of years of cruel injustice through colonialism and apartheid, South Africans voted for a constitutional democracy in which all are equal before the law,” it said.
Speaking to The Citizen, legal expert advocate James Grant said it was clear the court was taking Zuma’s conduct very seriously.
Grant had suspected the court would wind up leaning towards direct imprisonment “to prevent others from commissioning this sort of conduct”.
“There’s ordinarily nothing more at stake in contempt cases than compliance whereas here, you had something as important as the very rule of law itself,” Grant said.
The JG Zuma Foundation said yesterday that Zuma’s legal team was studying the judgment and once he had received legal advice, a full statement would be issued.
bernadettew@citizen.co.za
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