It was Karl Marx who said that history repeats itself, first as a tragedy, the second time as a farce.
Whilst there is no universal consensus on what Marx really meant, it may be acknowledged that the first time as a tragedy refers to an event that should not have happened and the second time as a farce or a joke because we did not learn from our mistakes the first time around.
In 2005, Jacob Zuma was sacked as Deputy President by then President Thabo Mbeki after the NPA had charged Zuma with corruption following the conviction of his former financial advisor Shabir Shaik. Following his sacking, Zuma then requested to be relieved of his party duties presumably to focus on his legal troubles. As fate would have it, delegates at the ANC NGC in 2005 refused to accept Zuma’s request and passed a resolution that he be returned to all his party positions. This was a significant moment in South Africa’s history as this handed Zuma a lifeline to launch his political comeback that would ultimately see him ascending the highest office in the land.
With his ANC position intact, Zuma then consolidated his influence within the party and managed to turn the tables against his nemesis Mbeki by winning the ANC presidency at the momentous Polokwane conference in 2007. As ANC president he wasted no time in hollowing out the organs of state such as the NPA to ensure that he would never be held to account for his alleged criminality. The withdrawal of corruption charges against him by then NDDP Mokotedi Mpshe paved his way to the presidency where he continued with his project to repurpose the state for the benefit of his friends, family and hangers-on in an era now referred to as state capture. Zuma’s tenure is now conveniently referred to as the “nine wasted years” even by those who enabled and propped him up. His presidency by all accounts can be viewed as a tragedy for South Africa.
Fast forward to 2020 the scene is set for another palace coup. President Cyril Ramaphosa finds himself in a similar position Mbeki was fifteen years ago. This time, the secretary general Ace Magashule has been charged with corruption for his role in the asbestos audit scandal during his tenure as premier of the Free State province. Magashule’s arrest and prosecution happens against the background of an ANC resolution that states that members accused of corruption must step aside until they are cleared. The SG has not offered to step aside but has instead dug in his heels by claiming that it was only the branches that had elected him that would remove him.
However, Magashule’s claims were rubbished by ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe who asserted that “the saying that nobody can touch us, only branches can touch us is a myth. Every member of the ANC is under the jurisdiction of the ANC structures. They have authority over us.” In the same breath, the head of presidency Sibongile Besani argued correctly that through the passing of the resolution, ANC branches were clear that corruption accused members must aside from their positions. Simple though this may seem, the spineless ANC has managed to convolute the issue when expected to act with resoluteness. The stepping aside resolution has not been carried and instead the ANC has sought to obfuscate the matter by opting for legal advice. This matter is scheduled to be discussed at the upcoming NEC meeting where it seems Magashule and his faction, already have an upper hand over president Ramaphosa.
In a spectacular backtrack, Mantanshe rationalises that stepping aside was a “voluntary act” and forcing anyone to do so would amount to suspending them. Political analyst Mcebisi Ndletyana has weighed in on the matter by stating that “ANC national officials have showed a lack of courage by seeking legal advice on resolutions of the party. People who join the ANC undertake to abide by the rules of the ANC. They recognise their own conference as the highest decision-making body for the ANC so once a conference resolution is undertaken, there is no reason to second guess that by consulting with lawyers. That was a retraction, a withdrawal of their own position because they do not want to deal with the resistance. Legal opinion is purely a copout.”
This copout is bound to tilt the scales in favour of Magashule and his supporters who will be emboldened going into the NEC meeting. As it happened with Zuma at the NGC in 2005, Magashule might usurp the stage to upstage Ramaphosa and launch his own campaign towards the Union Buildings on the shoulders of his so-called Radical Economic Transformation brigade. Against this grim background, Ramaphosa still preaches ANC unity without any hint of irony. It is almost farcical.
Time will tell whether South Africa will live up to Marx’s aphorism.
• Lee is a Sowetan reader
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