Protests: Why not ask Zuma to end it?

If sympathy for Jacob Zuma is the cause of this wave of looting and destruction, why not ask him to end the protests?

Whether or not criminals have taken over, there was a “free Zuma” theme when the riots began after his incarceration last week. His name and image appeared on banners and flags and on a large wooden sign used as a barricade in Johannesburg.

The Wenzeni uZuma? (What has Zuma done wrong?) slogan appeared on caps and T-shirts from his Nkandla homestead to Gauteng, leaving dozens of burnt out trucks, and traffic chaos.

The whiff of MK Vets hangs over those wrecked transporters. In an article which must have been written before the extent of weekend highway arson in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands became clear, William Gumede said in the 11 June Sunday Times:

“MK veterans have publicly backed deadly attacks against foreign long-haul truck drivers who travel along the N2, N3 and N11 routes in KwaZulu-Natal. The attacks now happen regularly.”

Gumede also noted that MK Vets “have been untouchable, breaking the law with regularity, unleashing violence and disorder, without being held accountable”.

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These are Zuma supporters whose, leader Kebby Maphatsoe, in December warned that arresting the former president “might provoke a coup by disgruntled military vets and supporters”.

Get it?

Maphatsoe and MK Vets are often mocked as incompetent but it is not impossible they would have the logistical know-how to coordinate the highway attacks – and some of the other mayhem we have seen over the past week.

It is also possible that elements in the security community remain loyal to Zuma. It is unlikely that Zuma’s subversion of the intelligence establishment, as detailed in Jacques Pauw’s book The President’s Keepers, has been completely unravelled.

A telling passage in the 2017 best seller is playing out: “The table is set; Zuma’s keepers have taken their seats. It is time for the great disentangling; the final face-off between the good and the bad in the ANC.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his address to the nation on Monday, made a point of repeating that he is commander-in-chief. Indeed he is. But in the current climate, when he chairs the National Security Council twice a day, can he be sure whether others in the meeting are on his side, or on Zuma’s?

And what of those members in the middle and lower security ranks, do they support Ramaphosa or Zuma? There is no good ANC, it’s all bad. But there is a stand-off between factions and the country is suffering.

Looters are not heeding Ramaphosa’s stern words. Split TV screens showed unhurried looting for the duration of his Monday speech … and beyond. Looter continua.

Will looters listen to Zuma? Let’s find out. Zuma should be asked to give a two- to three-minute prerecorded speech, urging looters to stop. If he succeeds, he could be rewarded with a reduced sentence.

If he can’t restrain them, who can? Half-hearted SANDF troops, or the Saps? If Zuma refuses, what will that mean?

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