Cele’s visit to Zuma might all have been in vain

Police minister Bheki Cele was in Nkandla not to convince former president Jacob Zuma to do the right thing, but to warn him of the serious consequences of his actions and to avert a political crisis, according to experts.

Rudolph Zinn, Professor of Policing and Forensic Investigation at the University of South Africa (Unisa) said the minister was a civilian and his visit to the Zuma KwaZulu-Natal home could never be seen as a policing matter but a political intervention.

“His action was a typical political move and not policing-related. The only link is that maybe he thought his intervention will make it possible for whatever policing action that was going to take place, there is no violence and make it easier for the police… he was also there to ensure that a political crisis is averted,” he said.

Drawing parallels with the August 2012 Marikana massacre, where 34 miners were gunned down by the South African Police Service, Cele on Friday said there was a strong belief that the killing of the miners could have been avoided.

“If you can make a contribution to prevent that thing to happen before it happens and becomes a disaster, if it does become a disaster… So it was on that score, to speak to Zuma, to raise some concerns that were raised, to hear his concerns and see where to take those concerns forward, both as a responsible citizen of the country and as a person with sort of responsibility that if things can be prevented, it is much better than to react after those things have happened,” he said.

Zuma’s defiance of the law has thrown the ruling party into turmoil, fuelling factional battles and, critically, his actions threaten the rule of law.

This comes against the backdrop of deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo saying the commission had recommended that Zuma, who is guarded by supporters in MKMVA uniforms against arrest, be arrested for defying a Constitutional Court order to appear before him and answer to serious allegations of corruption against him.

Also Read: Zondo commission to ask ConCourt to jail Zuma for contempt

North West University political expert Professor André Duvenhage said it was highly unlikely that Zuma would accede to Cele’s persuasion and warning, saying the former president was likely to fight to the bitter end.

“He was there to warn him of the implications of his refusal to testify but I do not see him backing down. He will remain defiant right to the end. There must be political, intelligence, and policing strategies underway to deal with this matter,” he said.

Duvenhage said the former uMkhonto Wesizwe veterans currently camping outside Zuma’s home posed no threat to the police, saying their presence in Nkandla was symbolic rather than a para-military operation.

Also Read: Zuma’s Nkandla ‘army’ is unconstitutional – expert

He said it would be easy to deal with them if police wanted to arrest Zuma.
“We have an easy process to take them out, not in a direct way but in a defensive way, with water canons, teargas or something like that. Not using sharp ammunition,” Duvenhage said.

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