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On the face of it, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula may appear reckless for what he said about the ANC defence of former president Jacob Zuma and his fire pool at Nkandla.
Mbalula’s context was to demonstrate how disingenuous Zuma was, having been defended at all costs only to turn around and seek to destroy the very ANC that went out of its way to protect him. For this, Mbalula is deservedly being punished by adverse public opinion.
The truth that has always been there is that the Nkandla saga involved a big lie and a cover up. It represented and continues to represent one of the lowest points in our failure to ensure accountability.
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Zuma enjoyed unprecedented protection, despite his glaring abuse of public resources for personal gain. Men and women went out of their way to say some of the most ridiculous things, such as calling a swimming pool a fire pool.
Some of those who did the devil’s job of defending what was blatantly wrong ended up in the dustbins of politics. The damage extended beyond the loss of public funds to individual personal prices. The emperor at the heart of the controversy and the man who specialises in victimhood continued to live his opulent life with impunity. He is now reincarnating himself with a new ambition of being the future president.
Harsh judgment
It is true that Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng penned a fairly harsh judgment on Zuma’s conduct. The judgment is not only harsh but well reasoned; no wonder it enjoyed the unanimity of the justices of the apex court. It asserted one of the fundamentals of our constitutional democracy: accountability.
But, more importantly, the judgment put the ANC in its rightful place and taught it that its majority was not a licence to avoid the accountability of its leaders.
It was this judgment that led the EFF to brand Zuma a constitutional delinquent and agitate for his removal from office. He finally unceremoniously left office a bitter old man who seem unable to recover from his removal.
There is something about what Mbalula said about the ANC’s defence of Zuma. First he spoke about the lies peddled. This is an unprecedented admission. Not many politicians or political parties can make such an admission.
Although his intentions may be different from what we may think, the sum total is that he made this telling admission when it was wholly unexpected.
READ: Kenneth Mokgatlhe | Jacob Zuma is neither holy nor innocent, he is used to power
It may be the pressure of the current conduct of Zuma and an attempt to expose how disingenuous he is. Regardless of the source of the pressure to make this telling admission, it does not detract from the fact that, gradually, the ANC may be coming clean.
The more of such admissions the ANC makes, the better for its long-preached renewal and our constitutional democracy. As a matter of fact, all political parties should also come clean about their past mistakes.
Zille and colonialism
Zille openly praised the colonialism that has caused untold misery to Africans for centuries. In true form, her political party went on steroids to defend her. When she called black DA leaders experiments, the DA simply went mute.
It was under her stewardship that the DA’s erstwhile Cape Town mayor left the DA under a cloud, with absolute secrecy, despite allegations of corruption levelled against her.
Second, Mbalula has raised an important issue about what political parties can do when it suits them. It suited the ANC to defend Zuma and it probably suits the party now to admit that it may have been wrong.
The positive in this saga is that the ANC has come clean. This is the second time the ANC makes such an unexpected admission. ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa told the state capture commission of inquiry that the ANC was accused number 1 in corruption.
He was also roasted, including by leaders and members of the ANC, for this telling admission. Thus far, only the ANC has come clean on these two important issues. Regardless of the context and source of their pressure, this is commendable. At least there is a semblance of true renewal. The first step of any renewal must be honesty and integrity.
As we praise or condemn Mbalula and the ANC for coming clean on the fire pool saga, we must be reminded that the Mogoeng judgment was a consequence of an EFF application to enforce the Public Protector remedial action and to force Parliament to hold Zuma accountable, despite the ANC majority.
What should now concern us is not whether Mbalula and the ANC have finally come clean, but whether those who ensured accountability still stand by their conviction. There is no doubt that Mogoeng will still stand by and remains bound by his judgment on the Nkandla saga.
READ: 'Worst ANC SG' Mbalula's 'fire pool lie' admission prompts backlash from Nhleko and Mantashe
What may be interesting, of course, is how he appears part of the All African Alliance Movement, which has preferred him as its presidential candidate and has now thrown its weight behind Zuma. This presents an ethical dilemma for a former Chief Justice who has shown a propensity to have political ambition hiding behind God.
In the same vein, one must ask whether those who branded Zuma a constitutional delinquent still stand by their position.
Our constitutional framework requires of our leaders to be truthful. Only when our political leaders embrace the values of honesty and integrity can our Constitution have real meaning.
Mbalula may have appeared reckless to some but, in real terms, he has set the scene for the ANC to take the giant leap and cross the Rubicon.
Like the president on his admission of ANC corruption, we may be entering a new era. The silver lining on this dark cloud that had engulfed us for years is that, indeed, the ANC may be renewing and probably the nation will in due course benefit.
Mbalula joins many other leaders of the ANC who have come clean on the problems in the party and their negative impact on our nation.
- Mannya is an attorney, author and political commentator
