South Africa offers good lesson on accountability
March 2018 goes down as a very thorny month for three leaders. For, it is in this month one sitting president Ameenah Gurib-Fakim of Mauritius and two former presidents Jacob Zuma (South Africa) and Nicholas Sarkozy (France) were accused of involvement in corruption.
However, of all, Zuma’s in hot water. South African authorities decided to say enough is enough to impunity and holier-than-thou approach. A few months after being recalled, Zuma is now facing criminal charges resulting from his long political gerrymandering and manipulations of the system.
The man of dance and awuleth’umshini wami, or bring my gun, is now facing legal battles on dirty and toxic deals.
South African National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shaun Abrahams, was quoted as saying: “I am of the view that a trial court would be the most appropriate forum for these matters to be ventilated.”
Despite this being long overdue, President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa is doing what many African potentates fear the most.
Africa is what it is because many criminals and their accomplices many. They scratch each other’s backs for fear of their successors due to the fact that they all do the same thing: plundering their lands.
Again, things seem different and chances for Zuma’s case to pan out are high. Abrahams adds:”There are reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution of Mr Zuma.”
I salute Ramaphosa and South Africa in general for refusing to condone criminality. Many other parts are totally different. Here the rule is: What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Many Zuma’s henchmen are overwhelmed and a few of his sympathisers are of course underwhelmed to see their hero in trouble.
When Zuma was recalled, he thought he’d goof off for a while. Before even cooling off down from the loss or cool down from the anger of being denied his yum-yum, now Zuma is in trouble once again.
It is so sad that Zuma was allowed to abuse his office for so long.
Zuma’s fate is nothing but a lesson for the many “untouchable” African rulers, mainly the politicos and potentates who cling to power tenaciously for the fear of their past.
Now, South Africa can say ‘gotcha’ and betcha; you’re in for it. Shall this experiment succeed; it is likely to put South Africa in a tiptop condition vis-à-vis good governance and the rule of law.
The South African take is new to Africa where the high and mighty are always above the law; and whatever they do is legal even if it is illegal.
Their family members and friends, too, become saints so as to also be above the law. Now Zuma is facing the moment of truth. Will his beloved son, Duduzile, survive or face the same music like his dad? Will the first ladies survive the danger their beloved hubby is facing or go scot-free? What’ll happen to the Gupta brothers? Time will tell. However, South Africa offers an interesting lesson to Africa where power has easily been abused, resources plundered while still criminals have holding citizens to ransom.
Mr Mhango is a Tanzanian author based in Canada
