EDITORIAL | Step aside for one should be step aside for all

As SA awaits Tuesday’s release of part two of the Zondo report into state capture, on Monday some corruption-accused ANC bigwigs were back in court. ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule suffered another loss when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) agreed with the high court there was nothing unconstitutional about the ruling party’s “step-aside” rule that led to his suspension.

Magashule is facing charges of fraud and corruption relating to a R255m tender for an audit of asbestos roofing in the Free State. He is due back in court in February. The ruling party suspended him from its ranks in May 2021 after he was indicted. This was based on the ANC’s rule that if a member of a party is indicted on criminal charges, they should step aside from their position. If they do not, they may be suspended.

Magashule has gone back and forth in the courts to try to get this decision overturned. Winning it is crucial for his future in politics. The SCA judgment upholding the high court decision should be welcomed. The principle of the step-aside rule is sound — if a ruling-party leader is facing criminal charges in court, he or she should have no decision-making powers while a suspicion of corruption is hanging over his or her head. 

The ANC’s repeated commitment to the renewal and rebuilding of the party relies on sound principals such as the step-aside rule.

Already part one of the Zondo report singled out high-value tenders, including the Free State government’s business with Blackhead Consulting, which, among others, received the 2014 asbestos audit tender, the deal over which Magashule is facing charges.

The flaw in the step-aside rule as applied here is that it only allows the ANC to suspend those who have been indicted. So many state capture-linked names in the ANC have surfaced, but few are being prosecuted. That is, ironically, one of Magashule’s arguments on why his suspension should not stand. He argued in the high court that resolutions taken at the ANC’s national conference were that members “alleged to be involved in corrupt activities” are supposed to step aside, not only those indicted on criminal charges by the NPA. Magashule said President Cyril Ramaphosa was acting factionally in targeting him. 

Singing from the same hymn book is former president Jacob Zuma, who was, incidentally, also in court on Monrday. Adv Thabani Masuku told the Pietermaritzburg high court that evidence of political manipulation in the decision to charge Zuma should have been properly tested and not “swept under the carpet”. Zuma is facing corruption, fraud and money-laundering charges related to the 1999 arms deal. 

As part two of the Zondo report gets released, the same theme will surface. The ANC’s repeated commitment to the renewal and rebuilding of the party relies on sound principles such as the step-aside rule. It is a move in the right direction, but still does not address the root of SA’s corruption problem. The rule runs the risk of becoming a side show if only a handful of culprits are sanctioned.