Few will seriously doubt that the criminal charges brought against former party youth leader Julius Malema are part of a calculated African National Congress strategy to neuter President Jacob Zuma’s bête noire. And so what?
The issue is not whether the process of bringing charges is politically motivated. It is whether the charges are political. They are not. They are for common criminal acts of fraud and corruption.
Of course, ideally there should be no government involvement in police and prosecutorial processes. These agencies should take decisions only on the basis of the facts before them.
Clearly it would be a gross abuse of state power to engineer malicious criminal actions against innocent foes of the ruling party. That is why the Constitution seeks an autonomous National Prosecuting Authority and that is why best practice decrees that one does not appoint party apparatchiks as National Police Commissioner.
The reality, however, is that while political interference in judicial processes is undesirable, it is not always unwarranted. Especially if it inadvertently rectifies the flipside of the problem: immunity from prosecution and jail for the hitherto politically favoured.
There are a number of ANC lowlifes – including, until now, Julius Malema – who were protected by the government against investigation when there were clearly grounds to interrogate their sudden immense wealth.
Despite calls for police and South African Revenue Service investigations, not only from opposition parties but also from within the ANC alliance, nothing happened. The ANC cloak of impunity had been draped over the shoulders of its favoured sons and daughters and it was clear that unless they fell out of favour, the magic force field would hold law enforcement at bay indefinitely.
Unfortunately for his own hide, Malema was too arrogant to comprehend the unwritten terms of that bargain: stay onside and on-message and you are safe; break the contract and the hellhounds of the law will be let loose. As Zuma warned at the time of Malema’s expulsion, life is cold and unkind outside the ANC. “Even the people who used to greet you in the streets will not recognise you,” were the president’s words.
It’s a Faustian pact of which Zuma has bitter personal experience. He had been shielded from the prying eyes of law enforcement while deputy to President Thabo Mbeki, despite the persistent rumours about his relationship with one Schabir Shaik. However, when Shaik was convicted of fraud and corruption, it gave Mbeki the opportunity to cut loose Zuma, whom he did not want succeeding him.
Politicians throwing their legally tainted rivals to the prosecutorial wolves when it is political expedient happens worldwide. It is nowhere near the same thing as the malicious legal harassment of the innocent through fabricated charges.
Malema, who is innocent until proven guilty, will be tried before an independent court and will be ably defended.
If the court finds that there is no case for him to answer or that the charges were fabricated, the proceedings will be halted and he will undoubtedly extract from the state a fat damages settlement. If there proves to have been politically motivated chicanery, a vile attempt to stitch up an innocent man, Zuma’s presidency will be destroyed at a stroke.
Also, if found guilty, there is an appeal process to which Malema can avail himself. Not to forget the ANC’s history of generous pardons and early release on compassionate grounds.
This entire process will unfold under media scrutiny. Over the course of the coming trial the SA public will be able to decide for themselves whether it is the charges against Malema that are political, or whether it was in fact his long immunity from charges that was political.
well u r making good points that is nt about wther the charges r political motivated or not bt that of criminal acts and corruption,then he should brought to book,thnks
The recent judicial proceedings in various high profile cases, do not create much hope that this case will be quick and leading to a clear result.
Hlope ,Motata, JuJu, Shaik, Selebi and some lower gods in the ranks, do not seem to have gone decisively and in a consistently clean legally credible way.
Malema’s case ? Estimated duration 3-5 years with processes within processes and political games in the galeries.
Justice? What justice??
I disagree entirely. You note that ‘It is nowhere near the same thing as the malicious legal harassment of the innocent through fabricated charges.’ Maybe that is true, and maybe Malema is indeed guilty of the charges. However the application of selective justice, and the manipulation of the prosecuting authorities by the executive for political ends remains entirely unacceptable, unconstitutional and against the law. The fact is there may be many others in the ANC just as guilty as Malema who are being protected due to political loyalties. Selective application of justice is happening. This does not make Malema innocent. But it is a disaster, not a triumph for SA. After Malema, who else is next? And more importantly, who else in ‘not next’ – in other words, all the hundreds of other cases that are not prosecuted remain a disaster for the legal system. There is a ‘tu quoque’ defence in law which Malema may well use, knowing this full well.
Again, your demeaning name calling, e.g. “ANC lowlifes” and stereotyping of black men e.g.”neuter President Jacob Zuma” reveals the nature of your own humanity.
But as usual William, your hate for Malema obscures your judgement. But, I suppose for someone indoctrinated by apartheid, sacrificing democratic principles, like the autonomy of SARS, is entirely OK with you.
Its all well and good to expose corruption in government, however the mean spirited way in which William exaggerates and turning a blind eye to the lack of “service delivery” in the Western Cape under his corrupt white tribal DA party, stinks of hypocrisy and politicking!
Corruption at the local municipality level is rampant in every democracy across the world. Entire cities go bankrupt due to mismanagement and miscalculation. In SA the incredible challenge lies in bringing basic services to the 80% black majority (African, Coloured and Indian) who have been oppressed and deprived for CENTURIES in just a decade!!! With this massive undertaking there are bound to be miscalculations and failures, yet William only focuses on certain failures with wild accusations of rampant government corruption as the sole cause of these failures in “service delivery”. He never speaks of the growing riots in the WCape due to the deliberate marginalization of the over 80% black majority increasingly pushed out of Cape Town into the apartheid ghettos by the DA’s policies of gentrification.
William neglects to mention that our present government is the most transparent government in the history of SA and this is the best antidote to corruption!!! Its also worth noting that in all his years being part of mainstream media, William has NEVER spoken up against the corruption of the apartheid government with such vehemence since he benefited enormously from its spoils. How shameful indeed!
Either you owe the SARS 11 million Rand or you don’t. That is easy to establish and with it the origins of that debt and why not paid. Blame the accountant, I never did bookkeeping in school.
Political harrasment is something else and may be to remove someone who has become a political liability.
As yet, Malema is the hero of thousands of youngsters who feel rightly or wrongly betrayed by the political establisment.
Political infighting happens everywhere but is generally a hallmark of dictatorships, quasi or real, where all means are justified.
Democracies pride themselves on transparancy. But even they have their CIA and FIB style agencies which are ‘above the law’.
Will Malema get a just and fair trial?
More important, what will it do to his popularity?
Long overdue and more than justified! What is very disturbing is the failure of the responsible seniors- tasked with collective oversight- over their political brood chamber! Like Cukoos, laying their eggs into unguarded nests!
Comparable to LLB graduates, thereafter joining the mafia and practicing to defeat justice at every oportune moment- not defending it! A reflection of a morally bankrupt
leadership in disarray! Maybe understandable by having a former intelligence and
underground chief in command- a leader, trained by years of devious thinking and scheming- eventual becoming his own victim, taking the country with him?
How unstable has SA become, due to a crop of abominable politicians- leading us ever further down the road to make this country ungovernable? Or are we already?
Clerics have to negotiate with unruly & striking miners, the public protector, besides protecting us, has to negotiate children’s return to school and roads in Kuruman…….
Where are the paid politicians with their inflated egos, being ineffective, inefficient, ever absent, reduced to actors, belittled, and laughed at, but enriching themselves! Instead of being replaced, fired and prosecuted if appropriate- no, no, no that is against ubuntu? Solution?
A united block of various cooperating opposition parties to speak and act as one?
@Bernpm, I would have agreed with you, but there is one undeniable difference here…JM is already outside the sphere of political protection. The case has been delayed until November, I think, which leaves da man self-absorbed by the time Manaung comes around and effectively unable to make his voice heard at a critical time…we are unlikely to know whether he is judged innocent or guilty by then.
If they want him put down, I suspect it will be early next year.
What frightens me most is that Zuma seems to have no one else interrogating his fitness for a second term and loyalists seem to be falling for him.
@Jeremy. Um, I think the idea with comments is to craft a new one for each new posting. Not to use the same one ad infinitum, ad nauseam. Maybe just change a word or two, so that it at least appears to refer to the blog?
re: Jeremy/Dave Harris/ whoever/fake identity/ fake photograph?
The very first comment that appeared in WSM’s ”…Drift of Nala to Nada” last week was from ‘Dave Harris’. (As was noticed, he jumps on the bandwagon to get in first).
The comment from ‘Jeremy’ in WSM’s post this week is WORD-FOR-WORD THE SAME. From ‘Its all good and well’…. right through to ‘How shameful indeed!”
Soooo, ‘ Dave Harris’ is either attempting a new identity – and forgetting to change the copy – (thereby losing his cut-and-paste plot) – and anyway, only managed to appear 3rd this week —
or ‘Jeremy’ has completely plagiarised ‘D.H.’s troll-dross which appeared last week.
Check it out: http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/williamsaundersonmeyer/2012/09/22/the-slow-and-steady-drift-of-nala-to-nada/
Either way, take it from where it comes …. and put it where it belongs
The subliminal message of William’s post is, and I think it is necessary to spell this out clearly, that the politicians presently in charge are only against theft, fraud and corruption if it is committed by others. Remember that the corruption charges against Zuma were only withdrawn after Polokwane and by a temporary head of the NPA specifically appointed for that purpose. And that only became possible because Zumas’s lawyers were able, using every clever trick in the book and at taxpayers’ expense, to draw out the corruption case against him untill the ANC got rid of Mbeki and put the Zuma crowd in charge.
If ever I get into big trouble with the state having an open and shut case against me I hope I will be able to afford the same lawyers. But that is unlikely since unfortunately I would have to pay them out of my own pocket.
@Jeremy: Total poetry.. brilliant! The suspense kills me.
@ copy cats & the usual….
If severe intolerance causes political river blindness, little sand corns appear like Matopos mountains, what could be the reasons?
Just a small black fly, or the ever irritating stings of truth?
A few- maybe- extreme expressions do not distort or hide the bigger picture, but flavor it! More reading in between the lines would be another helpful tool!
Oh……..somebody misunderstands, is once more offended by words or just don’t like the essence of the message- lets hear then your side!
@Jeremy….your schoolmaster must be very proud of you, or will he sue for copy rights infringements. Matric exam papers being stolen & sold already- once more? Shame!
The ANC and it gang of corrupt leaders, abuse state power?? Of course not these are upright and honest gangsters. They would never do such a thing??
Well, part of the issue is that Malema has been stuck on the roll with a whole gaggle of Limpopo politicians, all of whom happen to be opponents of JZ.
Meanwhile, the NPA quietly dropped charges against some KwaZulu-Natal politicians, all of whom happen to be supporters of JZ.
The picture seems to be that you only get charged if you offend the All-Highest. What a wonderful rechtstaat we live in nowadays!
Lawyer mentions a ‘tu quoque’ defence, however the ‘tu quoque’ defence hardly makes Malemam any less guilty or not guilty, and generally a defence of ‘tu quoque’ is a fallacy that might stir up sentiment, but will have no bearing on the outcome of the legal proceedings.
The Praetor
the usual cake @dave harris with all the trimmings of racism on top huh. never one to argue the topic at hand…..
The cat is out of the bag or should I say the Jeremy is out of the Harris.
@Jeremy:
I’m afraid you are too late. This village already has an idiot.
WSM, I really enjoy your blog posts. Of course (even if it were true) that the Western Cape is corrupted by the DA and service delivery left in tatters, even if it were true that we’re all fat cats feeding on the carcass of apartheid, it still doesn’t change the fact that Malema is innocent until proven bankrupt. If there is smoke to his fire, he should face justice.
Unfortunately, Jacob Zuma may be more difficult to haul back to the courts for his complicit guilt in the bilateral crime of bribing Schabir Shaik. He’s still warming his oiled palms by the warm fire inside the ANC.
@WSM, I am really looking forward to the Mangaung conference of ANC at the end of this year. One thing we can be sure of, is this media bill which will be strengthened. Once again, we have seen the reputation of the Deputy Pres and his partner disgustingly called into question by nefarious forces and noting that this is not the first time, I hope that the conference will strengthen the bill with accountability of those who peddle disinformation irresponsibly without recourse. Firstly, not only does our infamous peddlar not raise periods of investigation, he also fails to list how many agencies and for how long these investigations have been going on. Lets use the saga of the businessman Christo Wiese and his tax woes. His particular investigation by one agency has been ongoing for a couple of years. Now it is very convenient for anti-Anc, WSM, to moot that the ruling party is instrumental iro the timing of the charge. This is illegal and surely this warrants criminal investigation.I want to contend that if WSM allegations are true then HE, yes WSM in particular must lay charges. It is obvious that he has particular information and ”facts” on hand that proves his allegations. But I want to put the question, that WSM does not have ANY facts that prove that ANC is responsible for the timing of these charges. And if this is so, why shouldnt people like WSM or some in media be held accountable in a court of law for misrepresentation and untruths?
One of the oldest tricks in the book – when a proportion (from small to large, the latter more likely) of those at the top are doing things which are at best ethically and at worst criminally suspect, the way to zap those that step out of line is to use the weapons in the state’s arsenal as a last resort when someone steps too far out of line. This is akin to the herd’s protective instinct (the herd is greater than the individual so the individual will be sacrificed.
In human terms this peer policing is most effective within a corrupt society or culture, or where such society or culture is heading down the slippery slope which corruption is.
I’ve seen the opposite where, in a work environment, D&T were running a whistle-blower campaign and posters in the workplace provided an 0800 number and guarantees of immunity – the only folk who blew the whistle, as it were, were folk who were not allowed to join the very scams they were reporting on.
It’s the human condition I’m afraid, pure “let’s throw the ten commandments” out kind of behaviour. It’s a global problem even if in SA we see some efforts to hone and perfect this sad and corrupt behaviour.
Jeremy / Harris. I like how your profile picture. Looks like the dude from Criminal Minds. Good sense of humour.
When this is all said and done, I wonder what Malema will say in his book. I’m sure there’s more than a few stories he could tell us about his ex- friends in the ANC…
It never ceases to amaze me how our corrupt inefficient sorry bunch of rulers (not leaders) are still held in much reverence by some.
Zuma and Malema deserve each other.
Whether the thoughts here are a rehash or not, I cannot help but to agree that ANC cadres who toe the line are likely to either NOT be prosecuted OR be pardoned when found guilty.
This eviscerates the role of parliament IF parliamentarians do things like abuse their travel vouchers etc, as it provides their seniors with cases to hold over their heads should they ever decide to step over the prescribed party line…
As a loyal member of the party this “tendency” gives me pause and alarms me. And given everything that has come to light over the last years, I have seen this to be a real phenomenon and NOT a media conspiracy. Step out of line and suddenly the Law is upon you.
One cannot help but wonder how many illegal acts are covered under the blanket of obedience to the party, one wonders.
Thuli Madonsela for Director of the NPA!!!
@Tofolux, the only reason Malema is being brought up on charges is because he is now anti-Zuma. Malema has been doing all of these things he has been accused of for a long time but, the justice system protected him. He is not the only one in the ANC that are not paying their taxes and taking bribes. As a matter of facts, Zuma didn’t pay his taxes for three years before becoming president and in most democracy, he would have been put in jail. Will Zuma be forced to pay back the state money is spending on his house?
Speaking of Mangaung, this whole conference is a sham and not democratic. The people in the party will not have a chance to vote for the person of their choice.
@David, Malema should write a tell all book and it would be a best seller. He should let some movie company make a movie about it and it would be a block buster.
my worry is calculate the number of prosecution against case open, today a case of corruption, fraud has been withdrawn against certain elites of the ANC in KZN. that alone to me give doubt about our current justice system if they are independent enough.
Malema’s failure to pay tax .. the farm he purchased? … the luxury house he was having built … his cars .. high-living-lifestyle. …..? And only now this is being tackled!!
Zuma hadn’t paid tax for 3 years when he became president – and all other corruption charges were dropped or hidden or buried.
Talk about being the cherry on top of the ANC pie – and saying ‘disgrace’ before the ANC makes a meal of it!
And now the sickening cost of Zumaville – and the billious-making cost of Zuma’s new private home (which is being built, acccording to Maharaj, in case Zuma has to entertain President Obama or someone!! —and for which there are 2 state homes!)
It is costing the country millions upon millions of rand!! – and wouldn’t you know it: the journalist who reported the cost of Zuma’s new private home, is the one in trouble!
The ANC have no trouble in lying straight-facedly and claiming victory for uplifitng the poor – while taking everything they can get their hands on – including every last cent that should have been spent on the poor!
No other words are suitable except ‘Disgraceful. Disgusting. Disasterous and Ditch them!”‘
At the core, it is the ANC and Zuma themselves, who are to blame for having protected and promoted Malema for so long – without hauling him in ages ago and letting him face charges for everything he got away with, while under their patronage.
Fellow South Africans, let us remain calm and allow the law to take its cause in the Julius Malema case. Let the former youth leader repudiate his indictment in the courts on the basis of facts, finish and klaar. And purging Dickson Masemola, Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba and Zuma-supporting leaders in Limpopo will not squash Julius’s charges. Neither will it change the fact that the ANC rank-and-file want Zuma for a second term. It’s simple, bantfu batitsandzela Msholozi.
@Sterling Ferguson:
Exactly, the Mangaung conference is in tune with the democratic centralism that the ANC confuses with democracy.
Oh dear WSM you make some good points, but this is one very strange article where you allude the Zuma crowd wouldn’t be so foolish as to risk political interference. do you or does anyone really buy in to statements like
” If there proves to have been politically motivated chicanery, a vile attempt to stitch up an innocent man, Zuma’s presidency will be destroyed at a stroke.”
You might has well have written (some years ago)
” If there proves to have been generally corrupt relationship between Shabir and Jacob, Zuma’s political future will be destroyed at a stroke.”
I contend there is massive political interference, the majority of the population believe it (even the ANCYL), and as Lawyer so eloquently says, we also believe there to be a selective application of justice (& of the law in general) throughout SA. The law has become the servant of the rich (the bitch of the rich?) and the state pays huge lip service to the ideal of protection of the poor.
What’s so hard to conclude – I bet a quick poll would show most believe the charges against Malema are politically moticated criminal charges AND his long immunity from charges was also political.
Spot on Garg, Sterling, Lawyer, Change Cometh etc.
@Clarence, I wish you all the best as a loyal party member, it must be extremely difficult for you (hoping to change the system from within perhaps?)…I think the role of parliment was eviscerated years ago.
YES, Thuli Madonsela for Director of the NPA
.