Here’s what could happen if Zuma pays back the money

Jacob Zuma can’t be a happy fella. Finding himself locked up in a cold cell can only be a lonely experience.

He’s left with disturbing thoughts as he contemplates an unsure future. Also, the realisation that as a former president of a wonderful country, he’s leaving a deplorable legacy of having not only cocked a snoot at the constitution he helped ratify while still on the straight and narrow, but also as being the weakest party leader ever.

Fraternising with and scoring from hardened criminals adds to the sorry list.

So it’s not only a lumpy bed keeping him awake at night. There is a way he can get some of his stripes back. In fact, if it
comes with genuine remorse, his official portrait might still take its rightful place.

Remember the Kruger millions? It’s a hoard of gold reputed to have been hidden in South Africa by or on behalf of President Paul Kruger to avoid it being captured by the British during the Boer War.

According to legend, millions of pounds in gold and diamonds lie hidden in the Blyde River area in Mpumalanga. This hoard could’ve been useful getting the Boers back on their feet, but it was never found. Total waste.

This got me thinking. We strongly suspect Zuma of having a nest egg built up over the years provided by French arms dealers through his pal Schabir Shaik. Another big whack came rolling in as mining deals were made with the Guptas.

Unlike the Kruger stash, Jacob probably hid his in offshore banking institutions paying healthy dividends. The master plan? Jacob swallows his pride, withdraws the funds and creates a local trust.

The next step is to open Nkandla for a week’s festivities during which he publicly confesses and asks for forgiveness. Then the big moment. He hands one of many cheques to the department of health, the monies earmarked for the purchase of vaccines.

We South Africans are known to easily forgive, so we’ll let Jacob off the hook. It is his last chance to redeem himself – and leave a decent legacy.

Wishful thinking?