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Timeline of the decline of South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma

The descent of Jacob Zuma in 31 steps and counting, Daily Maverick, KAVISHA PILLAY AND MARK HEYWOOD, SOUTH AFRICA, 23 MAY 2017

Last week, the Constitutional Court heard arguments that Parliament should either allow for, or be ordered to conduct, a secret ballot when MPs are voting in a motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma. The hearing came after a weekend of storms covered large parts of the country, marking the start of winter. By contrast the President’s winter started way before the end of summer. He now seems enmeshed in a hurricane of discontent.

  Below is a timeline of exactly two months and 31 significant developments leading up to and shortly after the court hearing. It shows how the President and his cronies have been taking punches from all corners, with groups from every sector of society – including the ANC itself – now calling on the President to step down amidst allegations of corruption and state capture. The space for looting the state appears to be closing. The fight back against state capture is well under way. But with the pace of politics accelerating it won’t be over until either Parliament or the ANC itself removes Zuma and his associates from office.

17 March:……..

28 March…..

29 March:…..   to 23 May…….

The timeline we have laid out is growing by the day. President Zuma’s responses – claiming the country is not in crisis – suggest that he is oblivious to his loss of power and influence. They are not a sign of strength but a diagnosis of denialism. They point to a President who, like his colleague across the Limpopo River, is now so punch-drunk that he is unable to recognise the reality of the crisis he has provoked. However, weakened though he and his faction may be, the decisive punch must still be landed.

In this regard the next two months may prove decisive. Whilst the judgment of the Constitutional Court will be hugely important in setting the rules for the vote of no confidence its outcome will be a gauge of the commitment of the ANC to the Constitution versus its commitment to itself. It will be a test as to whether its current leaders have the moral courage of their forebears. If the ANC wants to avoid the humiliation of its President in Parliament its last and only alternative is to remove him at the ANC NEC meeting on the 26-28 of May.

We will all we watching. We will be hoping. We will be expecting you to do the right thing.

Our futures depend on it. DM   

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-05-23-op-ed-the-descent-of-jacob-zuma-in-31-steps-and-counting/#.WSUEFpKGPGg

May 24, 2017 - Posted by | politics, South Africa

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