At this time of year, when thoughts begin to turn to the sun-laden summer months ahead, and we feel the first twinges of anticipation of end-of-year holidays, we are fortunate indeed to have high political drama tinged with farce to help bury the burden of winter.

Such lively street theatre was provided this week by the Scorpions raiding the very nice new house of former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

While his mate-in-chief, Schabir Shaik, was pictured sitting unhappily outside his Durban home, which was among a long list of Scorpion targets on Thursday, the showdown at the Zuma mansion made for grand viewing.

The Scorpions, armed with a warrant, had come looking, no doubt, for evidence to add to the charges Zuma will face following his damning indictment in the judgment in Shaik's fraud and corruption trial.

The law enforcers swooped at dawn, and proceeded about their business with no obstruction from the man of the house or his staff, until some two-and-a-half hours later, at which time the "posse" rolled in. Armed with automatic weapons, screeching to a halt outside the gates in a black SUV, four enraged VIP presidential protection unit men leapt out to come to the rescue of their charge.

Now, had the Scorpions been assassins out for Zuma, in the previous two-and-a-half hours they could, even at a Cosatu work-to-rule rate of one bullet per minute, have shot their quarry 150 times before the VIP rescuers arrived and disarmed the investigators. By these standards, even the pneumatic blonde Pamela Anderson's VIP TV misfit band of bodyguards are consummate professionals.

Which brings us to the reason why this serious business of raiding the homes and offices of a mighty political figure should not engage the nation in a fit of hand-wringing and thoughts of the apocalypse.

The bitter wars of words both within and between the ANC and its alliance partner Cosatu are high political drama, not the coming of the Horsemen. Our democracy, young but far from fragile, is not under threat.

Anyone reading the judgment of Judge Hilary Squires in the Shaik trial would have expected Zuma to be charged for his role in Shaik's corruption. He has been. And he has been fired as deputy president.

Now the investigators are going about their work to change their famously prima facie case against Zuma to one of evidence that will stand up in court, and may be looking for further charges to add to their list.

No matter what the outcome, the ANC will elect its next leader, and the country will again go to the polls to elect the next government. That is democracy, not theatre.

With acknowledgement to The Sunday Independent.