Zuma is proof of the supremacy of our constitution

Jacob Zuma will not only go down in history as a man who single-handedly tested the strength of our judicial system, but also served as proof of the might and supremacy of our constitution.

He was arrogant, lied and talked a lot of nonsense that he was treated unfairly, remonstrating to the very last minute – putting the entire country on the crossroads of the rule of law and anarchy.

Had Zuma remained defiant, Police Minister Bheki Cele and his commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, would have had to send in the police to drag the former president out of his Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.

This would have surely sparked a confrontation with a small group of staunch Zuma supporters, themselves breaking Covid curfew regulations, camping outside to protect him from the police.

Bloodshed was inevitable, Zuma’s sons, Edward and Duduzane, had vowed, but Zuma would have the blood of those who would have been hurt and or killed in that chaos on his hands.

In the end, the rule of law and the principle of all being equal before the law prevailed and our constitution yet again emerged as the bulwark of the nation. The implications of Zuma being allowed to flout the constitution and the rule of law would be that all prison doors should be opened, all prisoners set free and the courts abolished.

Then what?

Our judicial system demonstrated that contempt of court is a serious matter withserious repercussions and I am certain this sends a strong message to others who think they are above the law.

Zuma has repeatedly tested the might of the law, attacked the judiciary and presented himself as a victim of an unjust system, although he undermined the Commission of Inquiry into

State Capture and swore not to appear before it, despite being ordered to do so.

The former president, who has said he was not scared of prison, must answer to the testimonies of the many witnesses at the commission who implicated him in a litany of allegations of wrongdoing.

The nation demands and deserves answers as to what happened, how it happened and why it happened. The nation is eager to see all those who benefitted from the malfeasance in yellow overalls, so Zuma cannot refuse to answer the allegations and not be made to pay for it.

Instead of being accountable to the people, Zuma chose to place our justice and policing system under extreme pressure and our nation on the brink of a civil war.

His actions can only mean he has a lot to hide, but our constitution, for which many paid for with life or limb, was there to show him that there is nowhere to hide. There is general relief that Zuma cooperated, avoiding a showdown.

I am particularly encouraged that the rule of law prevailed and that it was clear to all that Zuma would have been dragged screaming and kicking had he remained defiant.

I bow to the integrity of our judiciary, the resilience of the executive authority and the maturity of our nation.