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The Secretary General of the ANC, Ace Magashule. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)
Former President Jacob Zuma gained support by presenting the criminal cases against him as politically motivated and questioning the actions of law enforcement and the judiciary. Will it work for Ace Magashule?
In June 2005, following the conviction of Shabir Shaik, Jacob Zuma was relieved of his duties as Vice President of South Africa. Months later, Zuma was charged with rape and voluntarily withdrew from participating in the ANC’s leadership structures.
Zuma, who was acquitted of the rape charge and appeared in court only on corruption charges related to the arms trade after resigning as president, used his legal struggles to further his populist appeal before the 2007 Polokwane conference of the ANC.
He described himself as a victim of a politically motivated conspiracy driven by the elite to marginalize a leader of the masses.
Ace Magashule and his followers are trying to employ a similar strategy after an arrest warrant was issued. issued this week for the secretary general of the ANC. He will appear in court on Friday on corruption charges related to a 255 million rand Free State asbestos audit contract signed while he was prime minister.
“He has already started to hint at exactly that, that there are selective trials. Obviously, he is borrowing the experience of JZ, ”said Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg.
Magashule and the ANC’s Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction have been seen as posing a significant challenge to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to assert his leadership and implement party and government reforms.
Questioned about the arrest warrant on Wednesday, Magashule said News 24“The enemy intends to demoralize us and we must refuse to be demoralized. We must refuse to let the lies fly. “
Thabo Meeko, ANC Free State Spokesperson said the party would not tolerate corruption, but would rise up to defend an attacked leader.
Ekurhuleni Mayor and ANC Regional President Mzwandile Masina tweeted: “Now is a time of civil unrest, we cannot allow the abuse of state institutions to have future political ends. This is wrong, the elected must implement our resolutions and arrest the white teachers so that we believe they are genuine. “
Masina, who suggested that the ANC and authorities investigate Ramaphosa’s campaign finances in 2017, later deleted that tweet, but in another he said: “You can arrest Magashule for all her sins, but not for her ideas of radical economic transformation. “.
In a statement, Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) spokesperson Carl Niehaus warned against “the selective use of corruption charges and law enforcement agencies as tools for targeting factions and internal political struggles “.
“All roads lead to Mangaung on Friday,” Niehaus tweeted before Magashule’s appearance at the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court.
ANC Undersecretary General Jessie Duarte said Magashule did not want supporters to march at his trial or wear T-shirts or signs bearing his name. He said party members and leaders could attend as individuals.
Dr. Ina Gouws, from the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State, questioned Magashule’s alleged claim that she does not want supporters to gather when she appears in court.
“I think he knows that it will probably have the exact opposite effect,” he said.
While Magashule and his followers appear to be employing a Zuma playbook strategy, its effectiveness will depend on the strength of the National Fiscal Authority (NPA) case.
The Hawks and the NPA, who have made a number of high-profile arrests recently, have repeatedly stated that they will only pursue cases that they believe have a high chance of success.
While he was Prime Minister of the Free State, Magashule is suspected having instructed his assistant to tell Igo Mpambani, whose company Diamond Hill Trading 74 along with Edwin Sodi’s Blackhead Consulting formed the joint venture that won the 255 million rand asbestos deal, to make payments to third parties.
While Zuma used his court cases to gain support, he was able to point to allegations of bias that surfaced in the “spy tapes,” the NPA’s indecision on whether to proceed with the charges, and the Nicholson trial.
“His political claim of victimization was legitimized by a series of prosecutors and judges who validated his claims,” said Dr. Sithembile Mbete from the Department of Political Science at the University of Pretoria.
On the charges against Magashule, he said: “Now it all depends on how strong the NPA case really is.”
Magashule’s case seems clearer than Zuma’s, while his support is less consistent and claims of victimization less clear.
While he was Prime Minister of the Free State, Magashule is suspected having instructed his assistant to tell Igo Mpambani, whose company Diamond Hill Trading 74 along with Edwin Sodi’s Blackhead Consulting formed the joint venture that won the 255 million rand asbestos deal, to make payments to third parties.
Sodi and six other defendants were arrested in October. On Wednesday, his case was postponed until February 19, 2021.
Ndletyana said Magashule supporters can claim that Ramaphosa’s campaign finances should also be investigated and that the secretary general is under attack for defying “white minority capital.”
Ndletyana called the arguments “weak”.
He said that Ramaphosa detractors have not made concrete claims against the president or the NPA, which they claim is selectively prosecuting cases for political purposes.
“They can’t give a serious blow because they don’t have much,” Ndletyana said.
“They don’t have anything concrete, so they’re trying all kinds of things.”
Ndletyana said that Magashule could be using Zuma’s tactics, but “the success of that strategy is very doubtful this time.”
Mbete said the ANC RET faction that appears to be behind Magashule is not a clear or cohesive group and its ultimate goal within the party is uncertain. When Zuma claimed he was a victim during his legal struggles, he was vice president of the ANC and had a claim on the party’s leadership.
Those rallying behind Magashule cannot claim the same right to leadership and the faction has yet to join a clear challenger to Ramaphosa at the 2022 ANC elective conference, where the president, if opposed, will enjoy the benefits of tenure after your first term.
Mbete said of Magashule’s strategy: “It is not clear what the purpose of that would be, other than to delegitimize President Cyril Ramaphosa and his leadership.”
Ramaphosa’s opponents may want to challenge him at next year’s ANC national general council, but as the president’s precarious control over the party is likely to survive at least until the ANC elections in 2022, Magashule and his allies may continue. undermining Ramaphosa’s leadership while planning a campaign. around a possible successor. DM
