Will Jacob Zuma hand himself over?

The country is waiting anxiously to see what will happen if ex-president Jacob Zuma does not hand himself over to the police by this weekend.

Ellias Lwana, who works at a petrol station in the east of Pretoria, said it was good that Zuma was sentenced because he refused to tell the truth. Lwana’s colleague Obed Maluleke agreed, adding that the judgment was a good thing for the country.

“No one is above the law and now he must face the consequences,” Maluleke said.

Senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, Johan Burger, said the judgment meant Zuma had to go to prison.

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He said if Zuma did not report to a police station, the minister of police and national commissioner would have to take the necessary steps to arrest him.

“There is the possibility there might be resistance, not from Zuma but from his son and military veterans who said they will protect him,” Burger added.

Burger said he suspected the police have a plan in place.

“They would have done a risk assessment and determined what sort of resistance to expect at Nkandla should Zuma not voluntarily hand himself over.” He said one thing no-one wanted to see was a confrontation at Nkandla.

“But they will have to prepare themselves and have the public order police out in full force to disperse crowds if necessary.”

Nelson Mandela University political lecturer Ongama Mtimka said whatever rebellion there would be would most likely be a storm in a teacup.

He said if Zuma had the ability to mobilise disturbances or use the military for his political agenda, it would have been when he was president.

Political analyst Daniel Silke said there was only relatively limited support left for Zuma.

“There is a dedicated group who believe in him … but ultimately it’s more limited and I don’t see this as any widespread movement that may lead to major unrest,” Silke said.

Economist Mike Schussler said it was strange that people found guilty in court still had any support.

marizkac@citizen.co.za