Zuma is playing for time, a privilege of the powerful and wealthy
By Casper Lӧtter on 29 April 2021
“The law in all its majestic quality, forbids the rich as well as the poor, to beg in the streets, steal bread and sleep under bridges …” Anatole France, 20
th
century French novelist.
In one of his more famous essays, the British philosopher Bertrand Russell remarks that the last thing the goose expects after all the pampering and good feeding is to be slaughtered for Christmas.
This is the thought that came to me after news broke that Jacob Zuma’s lawyers have given notice of their intention to withdraw from representing him in his corruption trial. Ostensibly, this development resulted from the supreme court of appeal’s recent decision that not only does the taxpayer (thankfully) no longer have to fund the legal fees for the former president’s never-ending corruption trial, but that Zuma must also pay back the colours (public money) dished out for this fruitless exercise (though there is little reasonable prospect of recovering a dime since, for one reason among others, everything is owned by the family trust).