Statement on former President Jacob Zuma handing himself over to serve his prison sentence
8 July 2021
The South African Communist Party (SACP) reiterates its stance reaffirming the supremacy of our constitution and the rule of law, including the principle, flowing from the Freedom Charter, that in our democratic dispensation no one is above the law.
That former President Jacob Zuma complied with the Constitutional Court judgment for him to either hand himself over or be arrested to serve his prison sentence is a clear sign that no one is above the law. Albeit late, during that 11th hour on Wednesday, 7 July 2021, he opted to hand himself over just before midnight instead of getting himself arrested. This sad situation should serve as a message to all, especially those who opportunistically sought to exploit it to sow civil strife, that we must all uphold the supremacy of our democratically adopted constitution and work towards the peaceful reconstruction, transformation, and development of our country.
It is sad that someone with former President Zuma’s track record, which includes a former head of state, and who dedicated most of his adult life fighting for liberation and reconstruction of our country, ends up in this unfortunate situation.
This sad turn of events could have easily been prevented through compliance with the processes of the rule of law, which former President Zuma articulated with distinction when he established the commission, then as the President of the republic.
Former President Zuma was required to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Following repeated failed persuasions by the commission for him to appear before it, the commission finally approached the Constitutional Court to seek relief. Similarly, he chose to not take part in the Constitutional Court process and to comply with its judgment to appear before the commission. On 29 June 2021, the Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to 15 months’ imprisonment.
The key message arising from this situation is that those who required to appear before judicial commissions of inquiry, before the courts of law, before other constitutionally established accountability, inquisitorial and investigative legal processes, or to hand themselves over to the Police or correctional centres, must comply and not try to subvert the law.
The SACP reiterates the message from its 100th founding anniversary opening statement virtually delivered by the General Secretary Dr Blade Nzimande on Sunday, 4 July 2021. Our constitution was not given to us on a silver platter. It is an outcome of decades-long struggle for liberation and social emancipation.
During the struggle, we lost many lives because of violence by the colonisers, the apartheid forces, and their surrogates. We value each life equally that we lost, before and even after 1994. We lost, among others, the life of our own General Secretary, comrade Chris Hani. His assassins aimed at perpetuating apartheid. With the sterling leadership of our movement, the masses rejected the invitation to a civil war. The April 1994 date for our first democratic general election was resultantly set and we achieved the transition from apartheid to our current democratic dispensation, with our constitution adopted as the supreme law of the republic.
Therefore, the SACP reiterates its strong condemnation of the groupings and individuals who were inciting violence, in the name of defending former President Zuma, to undermine our constitution. War is deadly. It is not something any person or grouping should play with.
Until today we have not recovered in every respect from the consequences of apartheid violence, including the violence the apartheid regime sponsored through its surrogates. Many families, the majority black, encountered permanent loss of life when their loved ones were killed. Others disappeared because of the actions of the apartheid security forces and networks. Until today others, including SACP members, have not been found.
Through our hard-won democratic dispensation, we established laws, starting with the constitution, and institutions and processes to resolve issues in a peaceful way. This is what every person should follow, instead of trying to take our country back to the dark past of violence and blood shedding.
The SACP, therefore, reiterates its strong condemnation of the abuse of the name of our joint ANC and SACP liberation army, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). Real MK veterans know that life is invaluable and irreplaceable. They will not go around carelessly inciting violence and mobilising to undermine the very hard-won democratic transition that the MK as an integral part of our liberation movement fought for.
The SACP supports the ANC in taking steps within its ranks against those abusing the name of the MK. We will strengthen our participation in the organisational reconstitution of real MK veterans based on the revolutionary values of our struggle.
Issued by Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, SACP Central Committee Member: Media & Communications, 8 July 2021
