Arrests in Dubai are loud warning

Isn’t President Cyril Ramaphosa fortunate? Just as the heat is being cranked up on him over the theft at his game farm – and the host of unanswered questions about it – two of the fugitive Gupta brothers get arrested in Dubai.

That’s a diversion for the curious public, if we ever saw one. Yet both the burglary and arrests are facts – both happened and so cannot be ignored.

So, much as Ramaphosa’s opponents might like to question the timing of the arrest announcement, the fact remains that, however it was triggered, two of our most wanted state capture suspects are now in custody.

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However, as we have come to expect from bitter experience, this is a long way from seeing the brothers wearing orange prison uniforms. Firstly, there have to be solid charges on which to extradite them from the United Arab Emirates – and then to try them in South Africa.

At all junctures in this process, they will use all the legal wiles available to them to avoid spending any time behind bars, even awaiting trial. Yet, the process has begun. That cannot be denied. And that is a hopeful sign that nobody should feel safe from the campaign against corruption.