A march that's unlikely to go down in history

It was déjà vu all over again on Wednesday as marchers toyi-toyied through cities around the country brandishing placards decrying state capture and calling for the demise of President Jacob Zuma.

This time the predominant colour was the red of Cosatu and the SACP rather than the blue of the DA, which at least brings the uprising a step or two closer to the doorstep of Mahlamba Ndlopfu.

Inside the president's official residence, however, it is easy to imagine Zuma watching TV coverage of the protests impassively, perhaps raising the occasional giggle at the futility of it all.

The sobering truth is that, while everyone knows the fiscus is being looted, as well as who is doing the looting, those with the power to act - or even simply to draw a line in the sand - are choosing to look the other way. They include the ANC, the cabinet, the Hawks, the SA Revenue Service and others.

Then there is Zuma himself, who has yet to even half-heartedly distance himself from the Gupta family and still brazenly enters their Saxonwold compound in his ever-growing convoy of black SUVs to visit his "friends".

When the books and movies are written about one of the modern era's most audacious attempts to empty the coffers of an entire country, Wednesday is likely to go unmentioned.

The problem with any "uprising" stemming from the ranks of the tripartite alliance is that they have been among those looking the other way as Zuma has lurched from friendships with fraudsters and a rape trial to unauthorised spending of millions on his private residence and numerous other scandals.

Cosatu and the SACP have been part of the problem that has brought South Africa to its knees. Like the ANC, they now think they can be part of the solution. They are wrong.