Tony Yengeni, who has pleaded guilty to defrauding Parliament by not disclosing the discount on a car purchased from a company involved in the arms deal, has resigned.

The temptation for a newspaper such as the Sunday Times, which was the first to expose Yengeni's wrongdoing, is to gloat and claim victory.

But this would be wholly inappropriate, for it was not the Sunday Times or any other newspaper which persuaded Yengeni to resign.

Far from it. Yengeni has done his utomost to ignore the pleas this newspaper has made for his removal from office.

If anything, he has resigned despite those pleas.

What changed Yengeni's mind was the growing realisation that his behaviour was repugnant to the people of South Africa, who demand better standards from their leaders.

With acknowledgements to the Sunday Times.