Publication: The Natal Witness
Issued:
Date: 2006-08-02
Reporter:
Reporter:
| Publication |
The Natal Witness
|
| Date |
2006-08-02 |
|
Reporter
|
Editorial |
|
Web Link
|
www.witness.co.za
|
Judge
Herbert Msimang engaged fully in Monday’s proceedings and lost no time in
asserting himself . . .
It's good to know at last the identity of the
judge who will conduct the Zuma trial. Judge Herbert Msimang engaged fully in
Monday’s proceedings and lost no time in asserting
himself. He is certainly aware that public scrutiny of his conduct of the
trial will be intense, and that he will be expected to chart a carefully central
course through the proceedings, acting and speaking with complete fairness to
both sides. He’ll know, too, that he’ll be expected to put the primacy of the
case first, striving not to be distracted by extraneous
matters and the red herrings political lobby
groups may well have in store for him.
Monday’s events provided insights
and clarification of a number of issues. First, the expected
huge turn-out in support for Jacob Zuma didn’t materialise, although
several thousand ardent enthusiasts were present and demonstrated vociferously.
Also, a number of senior KZN political figures made a point of publicly aligning
themselves with him. Clearly, he’s a popular figure and highly respected in some
quarters, and, whether or not it’s postponed beyond the month stipulated by the
judge, the outcome of his trial will have considerable political ramifications
and repercussions.
An important feature of the brief sitting was Zuma’s
affidavit, in which he denied any corrupt connection with
the arms deal, and claimed that his court appearance was the culmination
of a plot against him by President Thabo Mbeki and others bent on sidelining him
and preventing him from becoming the next South African president. This is not
the first time he’s made the conspiracy accusation,
and it’s time it was subjected to full public examination, and properly
disproved or validated. If it is disproved, then it may be seen as the last-ditch lashing out of a cornered politician who, by his
own actions having destroyed the bright and powerful
future he’d planned for himself, is trying to salvage it by blaming others. If
this serious accusation is validated, however, the scope of and reasons for such
a conspiracy must be made known if our democracy is to be kept on track. With ackowledgement to The Natal Witness.