Cape Town —United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa called yesterday for legislation to be introduced to ban individuals facing charges involving dishonesty from holding rallies and using these to attack the judiciary.

Holomisa, addressing the UDM’s Western Cape provincial congress, said these campaigns “cannot continue to go unchecked”, especially when they are designed to undermine the judiciary itself.

He asked whether this was not sending the wrong signal to the rest of the continent and the world when a powerful individual such as former deputy president Jacob Zuma was allowed to question the legitimacy of the courts.

He said the pro-Zuma campaign was “nothing but a vehement attack on the judiciary” aimed at intimidating judges and laying the ground for disputing a verdict should it not favour Zuma supporters when the deputy president goes to court.

“When a campaign like this is pursued by people within the ruling party, we should be very worried. The African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and various high-ranking ANC leaders have visibly participated in this campaign. The ruling party must not claim that they are not guilty of pursuing this campaign,” he said.

He said the succession battle for the presidency was affecting discipline among civil servants in sensitive areas.

“It is going to get worse because leading political members of the ruling party have been deployed to lead civil institutions.”

“Whether your name is Zuma or not”, suspects had to wait for the courts to decide on their cases.

He said President Thabo Mbeki and his government should seriously consider the UDM’s advice about reviewing the electoral laws so that voters could choose their president or MPs from constituencies.

“We can’t imagine that a leader with questionable ethics will be imposed upon SA. Surely the people of SA should have the final say.

“A system of separate presidential elections is used throughout the continent and even the developed world. Such a system would save the ruling party from the morass it is trapped in. The tradition and outdated policies of outgoing leaders anointing their successors and their imposition on others should come to an end,” said Holomisa.

With acknowledgements to Chris van Gass and the Business Day.