Maimane beseeches Ramaphosa to end the Zuma ‘corruption tax’

In a statement on Sunday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said it was “unconscionable” and “unacceptable” that former president Jacob Zuma’s runaway legal costs are still being covered by the state.

He challenged President Cyril Ramaphosa to put an end to it, especially in the wake of revelations that the presidency has agreed to pay for Zuma’s legal costs for his participation in the Zondo Commission, on top of the costs for his criminal defence that the state already pays.

“How long will this government make the public pay for Jacob Zuma? President Ramaphosa should cut off this obscene funding immediately, and in fact the president should be opposing Zuma’s application for a permanent stay of prosecution.”

He said that if Ramaphosa were serious about showing real commitment to fighting corruption, there was no way he would still allow the public to carry the cost of Zuma’s legal defence.

“This is a corruption tax on the public,” he said. “Ramaphosa should be using the Zuma case as an opportunity to demonstrate that no one will be above the law in South Africa. He should instruct the state attorney to oppose Zuma’s application for a stay of prosecution. The DA calls on Ramaphosa to do so.”

He said his party would not allow Zuma to “get away with corruption”, regardless of what Ramaphosa did.

Earlier this month, Zuma’s lawyers filed papers in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court seeking a permanent stay of prosecution. The application was related to the French arms company Thales, which is charged along with Zuma.

Thales also filed papers seeking a permanent stay of prosecution, for the charges against it to be reviewed and set aside.

In Zuma’s first appearance, his counsel Mike Hellens argued that the case had a 17-year history and that it would be impossible for them to prepare in a month. In his most recent application, he argued that a permanent stay of prosecution against the accused “constituted relief in the circumstances”.

The move was an echo of Thales’ strategy in 2009, when Zuma did the same.

Thales is challenging the validity of the prosecution and the unreasonable delay in prosecution, despite the fact that Zuma himself caused most of the delays in the case. They argue that prosecution has not followed protocol.

Maimane said: “We have instructed our lawyers to begin the process of joining the case as an interested party to oppose Zuma’s application for a permanent stay of prosecution.

“Zuma has been running from charges of fraud, money laundering, racketeering and corruption for a decade. Every day justice is postponed is another day justice is denied for almost 60 million South Africans.

“If Ramaphosa can be so quick to offer to pay back the R500,000 ‘donation’ from corrupt facilities management company Bosasa to his ANC presidency election campaign, he should have no problem in taking a stand against making the people of South Africa paying to keep Zuma out of prison. President Ramaphosa’s decision will serve as a litmus test for the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ ANC myth,” he added.

“The state is not a bailout bank for corrupt politicians. The DA will ensure that that anyone found guilty of corruption spends a minimum of 15 years behind bars.

“Whether it is President Ramaphosa and his family’s links to Bosasa or the almost 800 charges haunting Zuma, we simply cannot have double standards over bribery and corruption in South Africa.”

He dared Ramaphosa to decide whether his fealty lay with Zuma or the people of South Africa.

(Compiled by Charles Cilliers)

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