Zuma won’t be the first leader sent to jail, says Buthelezi

AmaZulu traditional prime minister, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, says while he sympathises with Jacob Zuma, the former president is not the first leader to be sent to prison.

Buthelezi briefed the media on Monday, after scores of Zuma’s supporters flocked to Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend to stand in solidarity with the former president.

READ MORE: South Africa sliding back into apartheid era, says Zuma on jail sentence

This follows Zuma’s sentencing to 15 months in prison for contempt of court by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) last Tuesday.

The former president was ordered to report to the Nkandla or Johannesburg police stations within five days to start serving his prison sentence.

‘Potential to do much greater harm’

During the briefing, Buthelezi – who was speaking as an elder statesman and not in his capacity as a politician or the prime minister of the Zulu nation – said what was unfolding in front of South Africans’ eyes had “the potential to do much greater harm”.

“I realise that by calling this press conference to speak about what is happening in Nkandla, I am rushing in where angels fear to tread.

ALSO READ: ConCourt agrees to hear Zuma’s contempt rescission case

“Political leaders have wisely been circumspect in speaking on the ConCourt judgment against former president Zuma, knowing that this has the potential to divide the country.

“But what is happening in Nkandla right now has the potential to do much greater harm. As someone who has served my country for more than sixty years, I dare not keep silent. I love my country too much to see its future destroyed.

“I therefore speak today not as a politician or even as traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch and nation, but as one of the few remaining elders in our country,” Buthelezi said.

‘Zuma’s lawyers let him down’

Buthelezi, who is an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) member, indicated Zuma’s lawyers had let the former president down.

“Let me state upfront that I sympathise with Mr Zuma’s family in this difficult time. Any lawyer would have known the consequences awaiting the former president if he refused to comply with the Constitutional Court’s order to appear at the State Capture Commission.

“Mr Zuma’s lawyers let him down and he is now facing the consequences. I am not judging his case, but I sympathise with his plight, for he is still an elder facing a very difficult prospect,” he said.

READ MORE: Zuma takes a jab at judiciary, says he will not hand himself over to police

Buthelezi, however, said the matter would not be the first where a leader was facing a prison sentence.

“This is not the first time that a leader in our country has faced imprisonment, or worse. History provides us with many examples. But history also shows us how those leaders acted in the face of trial — even unjust trial — and how their people acted in response.

“What is happening in Nkandla right now runs contrary to our dignity as a people. We are making ourselves a spectacle in the eyes of the world,” he added.

‘Second sin being committed’

Buthelezi slammed the behaviour of Zuma’s supporters who gathered at Nkandla over the weekend, saying that “there is a second sin being committed”.

“With all of this history, I am troubled by what is happening at Nkandla. It is simply wrong. Our people there are challenging the state and in so doing they are challenging all of us who are guided by the rule of law.

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— Dudu Zuma-Sambudla (@DZumaSambudla) July 5, 2021

“But there is a second sin being committed at Nkandla, for those who are gathering are doing so at a time when our country faces the worst variant of the coronavirus.

ALSO READ: Cele: People who violated lockdown laws in Nkandla will be arrested

“We know that the protocols of social distancing and wearing face masks are more important measures to secure our survival than even the jabs that people are receiving.

“Yet when one watches the people congregating at Nkandla, there is barely a face mask in sight. They are jeopardising their lives, and the lives of every one of us in whose midst they are living,” Buthelezi said.

He further appealed to citizens to consider “what is going on at Nkandla as treasonous”.

“With all due respect for the sympathy people may have for Mr Zuma’s plight, challenging the state and risking lives is unacceptable.”

Is Zuma going to prison?

Zuma could still go to jail if the Pietermaritzburg High Court dismisses his application to interdict the committal orders granted against him last Tuesday, since the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case.

ALSO READ: Zuma contempt case: Cele says police will act on ConCourt ruling

This is despite the ConCourt agreeing to hear his contempt of court rescission application next Monday on 12 July.

The apex court had ruled that Police Minister Bheki Cele and the National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole must act to ensure that Zuma is arrested within three days, meaning this Wednesday.