Will justice be done with state capture report?

It is now four years since the ANC Nasrec elective conference – what many considered a watershed moment in the history of the party and of the country, because Jacob Zuma got his marching orders.

Cyril Ramaphosa took over as president of the ANC and of the country, with his sole commitment being to
reverse the depredations of the state capture years and to root out corruption.

It was an enticing dream he served up to us – a South Africa which could get back to the promise of the Madiba years, before the looters and Bell Pottinger poisoned the well of inter-race relations forever.

The major move to uncover the rot – and, in theory, pave the way for prosecutions – was the appointment of Judge Raymond Zondo’s Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Now, 278 witnesses and almost 160 000 pages of evidence later, his report is due to be sent to Ramaphosa next month.

ALSO READ: Zondo dismisses Arthur Fraser’s application to cross-examine witnesses

That might sound like the end of one chapter and the opening of the next – court trials – but anti-corruption campaigners are not convinced we are anywhere near seeing the light at the end of the looting tunnel.

For a start, Ramaphosa is not known for responding with alacrity to reports on corruption and maladministration and he needs plenty of time to “apply his mind”.

And then there is the now common reaction of anyone mentioned in such reports to head off to court to initiate their own rear guard – “Stalingrad Defence” campaigns to avoid accountability for as long as possible.

On top of that, the National Prosecuting Authority is also in flux, following the recent resignation of the head of its Investigating Directorate, advocate Hermione Cronje.

Should we now start to wonder whether we haven’t been sold an elaborate “dummy” to fool us into thinking that justice will be done?

ALSO READ: ‘Watch this space’: Zondo to deliver state capture report to Ramaphosa in January