Image: Sowetan
Faizel Patel – 05/02/2021
North West University Professor and political analyst Andre Duvenhage says former President Jacob Zuma’s attack on the Constitutional Court is no surprise at all.
Zuma was the main topic of conversation on Thursday when he was fiercely defended by the African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule, before he invited Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema for tea at Nkandla.
Zuma raised hackles after releasing a statement in which he slammed the Constitutional Court and its judges for ordering him to appear before the Zondo Commission into State Capture.
Malema and Zuma had social media speculating about the agenda for their meeting which is expected to take place at Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, at the weekend.
Malema did the unexpected on Wednesday when he asked to meet Zuma over “tea” to discuss issues that are of “national importance”.
Speaking to Radio Islam on Thursday, André Duvenhage says Zuma is causing a constitutional crisis.
“For more than ten years, probably close to fifteen years he is following what people call the ‘Stalingrad’ strategy. He’s ducking and diving court cases and court processes and now this has reached the end of the road. There’s no room for him to move in this regard. The Constitutional Court is the highest court and now he must give testimony.”
Duvenhage says action taken against Zuma will give rise to political mobilization.
“If they are going to act against Jacob Zuma, I have no doubt there will be political mobilization coming from the (Radical Economic Transformation) RET groups and probably also, not excluded the EFF and their support base because Malema is also implicated through the VBS Bank scandal. On the other side, if there is no action taken, then we can ask about the legitimacy of the constitution and the principle of the rule of law.”
Duvenhage says the ANC’s National Executive Committee is expected to make a decision about Zuma when it meets on 12 February, while Zuma is expected back at the commission from the 15th.
Listen to the interview with Professor Andre Duvenhage
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