Zuma was our Putin, our Mugabe, plus five highlights from 'Vrye Weekblad'

Who'd have thought that something like this was possible in SA, a country with a strong constitution and an open society?

For more than five years SA was without an SSA, a state security agency. There was only a ZSA: a Zuma security agency, with orders to destroy the president’s enemies within the ANC and steal billions of rands.

Zuma was our Putin, our Mugabe — almost our own Mobutu Sese Seko: a tribal demigod surrounded by a throng of sycophants and bodyguards, with unlimited access to state coffers and no respect for the constitution and the laws of the land.

The Zuma presidency was more crime syndicate than government.

It is an utter miracle that democracy has survived in SA. And an even bigger miracle that Cyril Ramaphosa won the ANC leadership contest in December 2017. It is now much clearer why he had to spend about R1bn on his election campaign.

Even Ramaphosa’s fiercest critics must concede that SA would’ve looked entirely different today if the Zuma dynasty had won in 2017. The insanity that is playing out before Judge Zondo would simply have continued, even if it might have been against Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s wishes.

Exactly three years after he was forced to resign as president, the final chapters in the thriller about Jacob Zuma’s nine catastrophic years are unfolding before the Zondo Commission on state capture. Over the years South Africans have read about the transgressions in the media, but the scale and details are shocking.

The revelations show who and what the anti-Ramaphosa faction really represents — and now criminal proceedings must start against the main actors.

Read more about the latest Zuma scandal and more news and analysis in this week's issue of Vrye Weekblad.

Must-read articles in this week's Vrye Weekblad

>> Browse the full January 29 edition

NO MORE ROSES | The Republican Party is about to implode, writes Arrie Rossouw. And Donald Trump is poised to exploit this rupture to prove his relevance in the run-up to the midterms in 2022 and the 2024 presidential election.

THE TRUE COST OF THE VACCINE | Black entrepreneurs drawn into the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine should function as part of a complex network and not serve as “middle men”, writes Piet Croukamp.

FREE TO READ — COVID FAQS | Elsabé Brits provides science-based answers to questions about the coronavirus. What is the latest on ivermectin and other purported cures? And is a life-saving nasal spray on the way?

DARK DAY FOR SA AVIATION | Erika Gibson investigates a series of decisions that may be behind last week’s two air disasters that robbed at least 10 young children of a parent and caused immense loss of vital expertise to the aviation community.

DARLING GET YOURSELF A SHRINK | Mia Arderne, whose debut novel Mermaid Fillet was the surprise hit of 2020, writes exclusively for Vrye Weekblad about the mental health impact of Covid-19.