Let us state up front that, like any other accused person, Jacob Zuma is innocent until proven guilty. Let us also state up front that, like any other citizen, Zuma should be subject to the principle of equality before the law.

It would follow then that, should citizen Zuma be suspected of committing a crime, he would be investigated and tried by a court of law. He would be represented by the legal counsel of his choice. If found guilty, he would be able to appeal to a higher court .

That is the beauty of living in a constitutional state.

As it turns out, citizen Zuma is facing very serious charges ­ of corruption, racketeering, money laundering and tax evasion. Sixteen charges in all.

Zuma and his allies have done everything in the book ­ both legal and sinister ­ to prevent him from ever appearing in court to prove his innocence.

This strong-arming may at last be paying off, with the National Prosecuting Authority seemingly set to drop the charges, allowing Zuma to go into the April 22 general election a free man.

It would be very easy and convenient for us as a society to simply shrug our shoulders and get on with our lives. But that would be an abrogation of our collective responsibility.

In doing so, we would be saying that it is fine for the mighty and powerful to bully and intimidate their way out of trouble. We would be opening the door to a lawless society. We would be telling corrupt politicians and civil servants and that this society has no problem with malfeasance . We would be violating the very sacred principle of equality before the law.

In behaving that way we would strike a body blow to the constitutional framework that we have so painstakingly built. Do we, this generation of South Africans, want to be remembered as the ones who killed the dream of a decent society in order to save one man?

Our planet is replete with examples of countries ­ among them Colombia, Russia and Zimbabwe ­ that threw away the rule book and allowed an anything-goes culture to develop. These are not nice places. Successful societies are those that respect the rule of law.

This newspaper believes that Zuma, who will be sworn in as president next month, should prove to the courts of the land that he did not commit the crimes he is accused of. He has at his disposal some of South Africa’s best legal brains, who should be able to prove his innocence, if he is indeed innocent.

He will also have the protection of one of the best constitutional set-ups in the world, a system that has enabled him to exercise his rights to the fullest.

As we have done before, we once more appeal to the good men and women in the leadership of the ANC ­ the silent majority ­ to stop sitting idly by while a dangerous power clique reduces our nation to one of those defective societies that the world pities .

We also appeal to the organisation to rediscover the sense of principle, the adherence to values and the inner goodness that enabled it to overcome an evil system.


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