JUDITH FEBRUARY: The pendulum swings between hope and despair in South Africa opinion As President Ramaphosa delivered his reply to the State of the Nation Address, the circus which is ANC politics continued to play itself out on the national stage. Predictably, former President Jacob Zuma again failed to appear before the Zondo Commission on Monday, 15 February. In its late January judgment, the Constitutional Court ordered Zuma to do so. Again, he acted like the constitutional vandal that he is. For someone who said he wants his day in court, Zuma is surely doing everything to avoid it. This time his lawyers argued that Zuma could not appear before the commission because he has launched a judicial review against Judge Zondo’s decision not to recuse himself.