Organs of state used to settle scores

One of the biggest charges against former president Thabo Mbeki when he was recalled in September 2008 was that he had taken control of organs of state and used those to settle political scores against his opponents.

The biggest thorn in his side at the time was Jacob Zuma who, it seemed, was being targeted by the now-defunct Scorpions and the National Prosecuting Authority.

It didn’t take much for the charges against Mbeki to stick: just one court judgment (which he later appealed against and won) suggested he was indeed using the NPA to persecute Zuma politically.

What we didn’t know then was it would have served the country better had Zuma’s persecution been a success.

What Mbeki was accused of doing, Zuma’s administration is doing on a level that far surpasses his supposed persecution then.

Not only has his government taken hold of organs of state and used them to amass untold personal wealth for those closest to him, they have also used these organs of state to destroy anyone who dares to stand in their way.

As the race towards the ANC’s elective conference in December heats up, the activities of these organs of state are also ramping up their shenanigans to settle political scores and bury any of the opponents of Zuma’s chosen heir, his ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

In the same week that Zuma’s sons, Edward and Duduzane, launched personal attacks on former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, the Scorpions equivalent, the Hawks, choose to resurrect a case that proved embarrassing for the NPA against Gordhan. Not only are they reviving the Sars “rogue spy unit” case against him, they’re are dragging Trevor Manuel and Jabu Moleketi back into the mix.

Even though it’s been proven the accusations about a rogue spy unit at Sars are baseless, the captured Hawks know that if you keep throwing mud at someone, some of it is bound to stick.

The accusations of alleged marital infidelity against Dlamini-Zuma’s strongest opponent, Cyril Ramaphosa, do not have to be true to achieve their purpose.

They need only be difficult for him to disprove.

There doesn’t need to be proof in the form of the women coming out and admitting that they indeed had relationships with the deputy president, there only needs to be the smallest of proof of communication with these women and then the smear is effective.

The sad part is that organs of state that should be focused on working to protect the citizens of South Africa are now diverted to find as much dirt as possible on Zuma’s political opponents.

Having been a “victim” of alleged political persecution at the hands of Mbeki, the president is very experienced in these matters.

But the sad reality of all these smears is that there is a very real possibility that whoever inherits the scraps of the organisation that is now the ruling party might actually be presiding over the main opposition come 2019.

The organs of state being used against political opponents may actually be hastening the demise of the ruling party, because the electorate are no fools.

They can see through the shenanigans and might just simply decide to vote for less drama and proper governance in 2019.

Sydney Majoko.