{"id":112427,"date":"2018-04-04T18:47:38","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T16:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/why-zumas-trial-matters-for-south-africas-constitutional-democracy-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2018-04-04T18:47:38","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T16:47:38","slug":"why-zumas-trial-matters-for-south-africas-constitutional-democracy-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/why-zumas-trial-matters-for-south-africas-constitutional-democracy-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Zuma’s trial matters for South Africa’s constitutional democracy | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Zuma’s trial matters for South Africa’s constitutional democracy<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Former South African president Jacob Zuma stands accused of racketeering, fraud, money laundering and corruption. <\/span> EPA-EFE<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former South African president Jacob Zuma\u2019s court appearance carries huge significance for the country. That\u2019s because his criminal trial is not merely about public outrage at state capture and corruption in high political offices. Nor is it just about Zuma facing the consequences of his abuse of office. Or the criminal justice implications of a former president being charged with a series of crimes. <\/p>\n

Its broader significance is that Zuma\u2019s court appearance affects many of the most important philosophical foundations of South Africa\u2019s constitutional democracy. The charges against him are immensely important for the foundations of the state. They also matter for democracy and for the constitutional social contract.<\/p>\n

This is because the legitimacy of any elected public representative is based on the mandate they receive at a general election. That mandate is the product of a contract between voters and public representatives. Voters cede part of their most fundamental democratic rights of public participation to the representatives. In exchange, and as a cornerstone of representative democracy, elected representatives must account for their actions to Parliament and to the voters.<\/p>\n

If a public representative deviates from that mandate \u2013 or abuses it for other purposes or his own interest, or worse even for criminal purposes \u2013 then the foundation of representative democracy is violated. If abuses become widespread, or if a person in a key public position violates this contractual relationship, the foundation of representative democracy is under threat.<\/p>\n

Public opinion in South Africa accuses Zuma of such a violation. The public also expects him to take political responsibility for it. In this context, his prosecution will amount to a public process to rectify and remedy his undemocratic and unconstitutional behaviour.<\/p>\n

Zuma\u2019s mere appearance in court, and the accompanying public humiliation, should act as a reprimand for his abuse of the public\u2019s trust in him as elected president. In essence, it could be seen as a process to restore the constitutional relationship between the public and elected representatives.<\/p>\n

State capture and state institutions<\/h2>\n

Although his charges don\u2019t address it directly, state capture is a subtext in his court appearance. State capture \u2013 the alleged undue influence of Zuma\u2019s friends, the Gupta family, in the running of the state for private gain \u2013 has caused serious institutional degradation in the public sector. The works of scholars Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson emphasise the importance of strong and capable state institutions. <\/p>\n

Once institutions are threatened or undermined, states start to malfunction and constitutional crises develop. Institutions are associated with a number of constitutional principles. These include the separation of powers, judicial independence, a state\u2019s responsibility to provide security and services as well as to collect taxes. Once state institutions are weakened, it becomes impossible to implement and protect constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

Zuma\u2019s infiltration of state institutions, such as the criminal justice system, the revenue service, the intelligence institutions and enterprises such as the power utility Eskom, almost broke the institutional spine of the state. This would have happened had it not been for institutions such as the Public Protector and the National Treasury, the Reserve Bank and the judiciary. <\/p>\n

Part of Zuma\u2019s legacy also includes the state\u2019s fiscal capacity being seriously compromised as well as state institutions such as the Hawks or National Prosecuting Authority. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s necessary for him to account for all, in public.<\/p>\n

The law and moral values<\/h2>\n

The criminal offences that Zuma faces \u2013 including corruption, fraud, money laundering or racketeering \u2013 are not only crimes. They\u2019re also violations of a society\u2019s moral value system.<\/p>\n

A legal system is intended to protect a society\u2019s value system. It\u2019s therefore an essential aspect of any constitutional democracry.<\/p>\n

In this light, Zuma\u2019s trial is not only about whether he did, or didn\u2019t, commit certain crimes. It will also serve to reaffirm the moral values that direct the lives of public representatives. Corruption, for example, harms the relationship between the voter and public representative and the electoral mandate that regulates that relationship. It challenges the very essence of representative democracy.<\/p>\n

A former president on trial will be a strong reminder that political power is not supreme, that it cannot guarantee uncensored immunity and privilege. A trial will send the message that unbridled power comes with high risks and huge costs. <\/p>\n

Luckily, the South African legal system does not allow for presidential immunity. It can thus avoid the spectre of autocratic executives who escape punishment for corruption.<\/p>\n

A message for the private sector<\/h2>\n

Zuma\u2019s trial also sends a message to the private sector \u2013 that it\u2019s conduct is judged by the same moral values as those used for public representatives. State capture collusion by private sector entities equally undermines the constitutional dispensation. <\/p>\n

Hopefully, Zuma\u2019s case will motivate business executives to reconsider how they relate to government, what form of lobbying is acceptable, how they participate in procurement processes, and how they deal with conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very important that the Zuma case is approached with utmost professionalism by the prosecuting authority. All the principles of the rule of law should be on display. No special treatment should be considered and no overt political agendas should be tolerated from any side \u2013 either to please or to humiliate.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Dirk Kotze does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
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Read more on The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Why Zuma’s trial matters for South Africa’s constitutional democracy: Former South African president Jacob Zuma stands accused of racketeering, fraud, money laundering and corruption. EPA-EFE Former South African president Jacob Zuma\u2019s court appearance carries huge significance for the country. That\u2019s because his criminal trial is not merely about public outrage at state capture and corruption […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[4635,11659,8890,4666,4211,3576,4323,3471],"class_list":{"0":"post-112427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-africas","8":"tag-constitutional","9":"tag-conversation","10":"tag-democracy","11":"tag-matters","12":"tag-south","13":"tag-trial","14":"tag-zumas","15":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}