It is also important to dispel the myth of Jacob Zuma’s grassroots support. The claim is not backed up by empirical evidence.
When former president Jacob Zuma faced his darkest hour, he was alone. A mere 40 minutes to midnight on 7 July, Zuma’s state-sponsored guards drove out of his Nkandla homestead at high speed in black SUVs and handed him over to the Estcourt Correctional Centre, where he began his 15-month sentence.
ANC NEC member Tony Yengeni and suspended governing party Secretary-General Ace Magashule were nowhere to be seen. The point here is that in the end the Constitution and the rule of law triumphed. As sad as Zuma’s incarceration may be for some, it was important that the Constitutional Court be respected. Zuma’s defiance and his attacks on the court were damaging to the court and our country.
It is also important to dispel the myth of Zuma’s grassroots support. This claim is not backed by any empirical evidence. If anything, the ANC’s electoral support over the Zuma years has declined significantly – to a point where the party lost three important metros in the 2016 local government elections.
How is it possible that a man so popular does not even enjoy the support of his neighbours? The truth is that the hundreds gathered at Nkandla over the weekend were rent-a-crowds that travelled mostly from eThekwini, and some from Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, where Zuma ally Andile Lungisa lives, while another grouping came from the Free State and Mpumalanga.
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