ANC members, however, argued that the opposition was using the incident for electioneering purposes and that they had called for the debate on the matter, not in the interests of hearing the truth, but to voice their hatred for Zuma.
Members of Parliament debated the landing of the aircraft on Wednesday with opposition MPs pointing the finger at Zuma's close relationship with the powerful Gupta family as the cause of the problem.
Zuma did not attend the debate.
Democratic Alliance chief whip Watty Watson, who had asked for the matter to be debated criticised the president's failure to attend.
"This is much like his absence of leadership, the lack of which resulted in officials being blamed, rather than his Cabinet taking responsibility," said Watson.
Watson accused the government of making a mockery of the concept of accountability by blaming the officials in the incident.
The government has also made a mockery of the police service, defence force, diplomacy, immigration controls, democratic system, "our hard fought Constitution and all [that] we hold dear as a nation", he said.
Democratic Alliance (DA) MP David Maynier called for both Zuma and Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula's heads to roll.
'Root of the problem'
Maynier said Zuma was guilty of creating a "culture of undue influence", which is referred to in the investigation report. "The root cause of the problem, which led to 'Guptagate', is President Jacob Zuma," Maynier said.
"There is a widely held perception that when the Guptas say 'jump', the President asks, 'how high'. So, why were we surprised that when the Guptas said 'jump', some senior officials said, 'how high'?
"We cannot sit back and allow ministers to get off the hook by hanging a few 'rogue officials' out to dry.
"That is why the president should have been here today accounting to us in Parliament, rather than hiding away from us in the Union Buildings," said Maynier.
Maynier said the landing of the civilian aircraft at a military airbus carrying guests to the Gupta wedding triggered massive political fallout.
"Years of frustration with President Zuma's 'sugar daddies', including the Shaiks, the Reddys and the Guptas, who make up 'Zuma Inc, exploded."
Maynier said it was hard to believe that not one minister knew anything about:
- three fixed wing aircraft;
- seven helicopters;
- 88 vehicles; and
- 490 personnel – 194 of them, being state employees – supporting a private function from AFB Waterkloof.
While he applauded Mapisa-Nqakula for turning down a request from the Gupta family to use AFB Waterkloof, her failure to inform the secretary of defence Sam Gulube or the chief of the defence force General Solly Shoke of her decision was questionable.
"We have to ask: in what kind of country does a private individual telephone a minister to request landing rights at a strategic military base?
"We also have to ask: in what kind of country does a minister turn down a request and then not officially communicate the decision to her senior officials?
"The minister, evidently, needs to be reminded that she runs a state department, which is responsible for the defence of the country, not a 'spaza shop'," said Maynier.
Taken action
He said had Mapisa-Nqakula taken action and issued clear instructions, Jet Airways JAI 9900 would never have landed at AFB Waterkloof, and there would have been no "Guptagate" scandal.
Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota said the incident showed that Zuma and his Cabinet ministers were disengaged from the very act of governing.
"Their senior officials, we learn, autonomously and brazenly run day-to-day government affairs. It wasn't so in my time as minister," he said.
Lekota said it was astonishing that Justice Minister Jeff Radebe asserted that "name dropping" was solely to blame for the matter, saying this spoke loudly to the general malaise and drift manifesting in the country.
"For that reason anything goes, where anybody who is a friend of the president can approach anyone in government for anything at any time and officials will feel compelled enough, with mere name-dropping and nothing else, to give consent on their own.
"This is what we are being asked to accept by the ministers of whitewash feeding us this hogwash."
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa suggested that it was not the first time the Gupta family had used Waterkloof, but the first time this abuse had come to light.
Justified anger
​ANC MP Annelize van Wyk acknowledged that the nation's anger over the incident was justified.
She then defended the government, saying the statements released by the ANC and its alliance partners and the quick reaction of ministers in the security cluster showed that the government took the matter seriously.
"Even before the findings of the report were communicated, it was rubbished by the opposition and the detractors of government … they will leave no stone unturned, to illegitimise the government and taint the image of South Africa, no matter the consequences," she said.
"The fact that government reacted immediately and decisively is an indication of a maturing democracy. There was no effort to sweep the incident under the carpet," said Van Wyk.
She accused the opposition of "suffering from a serious case of election fever and government envy".
In his address, Radebe had also accused the opposition of using the incident as an electioneering tool.
Radebe said government had decided to release the report both to the public and public protector Thuli Madonsela "in the spirit of transparency and our desire to bring this matter to a satisfactory closure".
Madonsela asked for a copy of the report before deciding whether to agree to a request by the DA to launch her own investigation.
Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor accused the DA of undermining the standing of Madonsela's office by pressing her to conduct another probe in the hope of harming the ANC and the president.
"Members of the opposition are consumed by their hatred of President Jacob Zuma and unable to look objectively, rationally at an issue if it provides an opportunity to throw stones at our president.
"If the report does not find Zuma guilty, they are unable to accept it."