According to the Sowetan‘s editorial on Thursday, entitled ”Justice in Shambles”, Judge Herbert Msimang’s striking the Zuma case off the court roll weakened the credibility of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and speaks volumes about South Africa’s justice system as a whole.
It says that the prosecution did not do the necessary ”homework” before going to court. Despite spending millions of rands on legal costs and sending Zuma’s reputation into disrepair, the Sowetan says, the NPA was still unable to put forth a valid case.
The editorial goes on to say that if a man of high standing, such as Zuma, could be treated in this way before even being tried for his alleged crimes, ” … ‘lesser’ beings on the bottom rungs of our society have every reason to fear the worst from our prosecuting authorities”.
Daily Sun
In its ”Daily Sun says” column on Thursday, entitled ”Nothing can stop Mshlozi now”, the Daily Sun says that the state would have to be very brave to bring out new charges against Zuma.
Talking about Zuma’s ”freedom” and his impending presidential candidacy, the paper says that the country is in need of strong political leadership in many areas of governance, including the police, health, and home affairs, exclaiming ”IN FACT THE WHOLE COUNTRY NEEDS STRONG LEADERSHIP!”
It says Zuma’s advice after his rape trial, that people should do things for themselves because the government cannot do everything, was ”good, hard advice after all the soft, woolly stuff of the past years”.
Adding that Zuma already has a great support base, the paper says that if Zuma can show strong leadership, very little will stop him from becoming president.
Star
The Star’s editorial says while the state may still re-charge Zuma, there is no doubt that the ruling was a setback for it and a moral victory for Zuma.
”Based on the jubilation in Maritzburg and the Cosatu conference at Gallagher Estate, it would seem Jacob Zuma has already been elected as the new president of the African National Congress and South Africa.”
” … but the question the African National Congress [ANC] rank and file will have to answer by December 2007 is whether Zuma is the right person to lead the party and, by inference, the country,” it reads.
”Can South Africa afford to have as its president a man whose judgment on sexual and financial matters is highly questionable?”
The editorial also raises the fact that should Schabir Shaik succeed in his appeal against his conviction on fraud and corruption charges at the end of September, Zuma’s political ambitions could become unstoppable.
Business Day
According to Business Day’s editorial, even if Jacob Zuma’s ”jubilant supporters” may argue that his name has now been cleared and that he will stand for election as the ANC’s new leader, ”he has not won the legal battle yet”.
”Msimang did not dismiss the case. He hadn’t heard it yet. His decision was not based on the merits of the case, but on the technicalities of whether a further postponement was justified.”
”For Zuma, the trouble is that now that the case is no longer on the roll, there’s no judge calling the shots about timing. The NPA could in theory take as long as it likes to file new charges,” reads the editorial.
”For [the NPA’s] own sake — and ours — it must avoid that. If it is going ahead, it must do so as soon as possible.”