It is becoming clearer why President Thabo Mbeki was prepared to go to such lengths ­ including risking public humiliation at Polokwane ­ to cling to the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC). He had painted himself into a corner on several key political issues, and the only means of extricating himself without leaving incriminating footprints was to shut everyone else out of the room in the hope that the paint would dry by the time they broke the door down.

It didn't work out that way, and Mbeki now cuts a lonely figure in his corner, issuing increasingly frantic instructions that few in the ANC are inclined to heed, justifications that do not ring true ­ including a precedent-setting public apology on Eskom. The president isolated himself by being inconsistent, obtuse and allowing the perception to take hold that he was prepared to use his powers for political ends, undermining key state agencies and institutions in the process.

The most important of these, from the perspective of the future stability of the country, are those that relate to policing and the justice system. Hardly a decade has passed since they were established, some in terms of a constitution widely hailed as among the best in the world. Yet they are already faltering, mainly because, in confusing its own interests with those of the state, the ruling party has failed to jealously defend the rule of law.

As leader of the ANC and country during this period, Mbeki bears much of the responsibility. Attempts to justify his actions, such as legal adviser in the Presidency Mojanku Gumbi's defence of his refusal to suspend national police commissioner Jackie Selebi while accusations of criminal activity against him were investigated, ring hollow *1. The purpose of suspensions is to remove an official who is accused of serious crimes from the post while an investigation takes place, so that he cannot intimidate potential witnesses or suppress evidence.

The arrest on trumped-up charges of Gerrie Nel, the man leading the investigation against Selebi, amounted to open warfare between two competing law enforcement agencies, a crisis a country under siege by criminals *2 can ill afford. One shudders to think where it would all have ended had the prosecutor not dismissed the charges against Nel for lack of evidence, and a judge not ruled that there was a compelling prima facie case against Selebi, thereby forcing Mbeki to finally do his duty.

In direct contrast to his foot-dragging in the case of Selebi, Mbeki acted with astonishing speed to suspend NPA director Vusi Pikoli after he had obtained a warrant for Selebi's arrest, making nonsense of Gumbi's sophistry. It remains unclear what legal grounds Mbeki believes justified Pikoli's suspension, and the terms of reference of the Ginwala inquiry do not inspire confidence that it will help shine much light on the matter.

Political shenanigans have already compromised the police, NPA, National Intelligence Agency and Parliament's standing committee on public accounts, while the Public Protector has yet to rise above the level of lapdog. Now the new ANC leadership is leading an assault on the judiciary, insisting Zuma will not get a fair trial and sniping at Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke on the basis of ambiguous comments made at a party *3 and reported in a newspaper.

If this is an example of the level of maturity the governing party *4 is going to adopt in deciding the future of the justice system in SA, we are in for a rough ride *6.

With acknowledgements to Business Day.