FRANNY RABKIN: President baffles with about-turn on Jiba
Jacob Zuma presses ahead at the one time it may be prudent to delay, writes Franny Rabkin
After the president’s extraordinary capitulation in his application to interdict the release of the public protector’s State of Capture report, I asked myself: all these U-turns by the president and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), all these capitulations. What is going on? The day Jacob Zuma withdrew his case, last week Wednesday, was the same day Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was initially scheduled to appear for the first time on fraud charges in the magistrate’s court, a few blocks away from where we were sitting in the high court. Of course, Gordhan did not end up appearing because the charges had been dropped — another extraordinary U-turn by the NPA, announced on the Monday. Then, on Tuesday, charges were also withdrawn against Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride. There was another apparent change of heart that, with everything else going on, went almost unnoticed but needs to be flagged: the president’s announcement the week before of ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.