The DA's Evergreen

By most accounts Jacob Zuma is quite popular and is doing a good job — a much better job, it must be admitted, than many of his detractors expected when he took office back in May. But the biggest issue surrounding Zuma — let’s call it his tendency toward putting himself into situations where malfeasance seems to closely follow — is not one that will ever fully go away. And so in times when the Democratic Alliance (DA) opposition is having a hard time developing a substantive anti-Zuma message, we can expect that they will resort to the evergreen (because it is always in bloom) of Zuma’s dubious past dealings. This is just one such time. And so Helen Zille’s DA has called on the High Court to revisit the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) decision to drop corruption charges against Zuma.

It’s not that the DA is wrong on the merits. I’m sure many South Africans are at least uneasy about the appearance of Zuma getting a pass because of his powerful position. But for the country’s main opposition party to be so centrally involved in these discussions seems a bit untoward, especially when these recent demands seem to come in lieu of substantial policy discussion. Do not be surprised to see this issue crop up periodically, if only to keep the DA alive in the public consciousness, since as of now the party seems fairly bereft of ideas to counter the ANC.