South African Politics Book Review by Edward Keenan Jacobs (19988710)
Basson, A & du Toit, P. 2017. Enemy of the People: How Jacob Zuma stole South Africa and
how the people fought back. Jeppestown: Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Introduction
As South Africa trudges through one of the most tumultuous times in human history, it is easy
to forget the constant barrage of scandals, maleficence, looting and brazen attacks on the
institutions of democracy that South Africans had to live through during, what President
Ramaphosa termed, the “nine wasted years” of the Zuma presidency. However, as George
Santayana rightly warned, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”
(Santayana, 1905:284). It is precisely this phenomenon that award-winning journalists Adriaan
Basson and Pieter du Toit aim to avoid, by providing a comprehensive account of the way in
which former president Jacob Zuma captured the State for his benefit and that of his corrupt
friends and associates. Through their meticulous research and welcoming writing style, Basson
and du Toit help us ‘join the dots’ of South Africa’s decline, that will have the constant refrain
of “oh wow … yes, that happened” ringing in your head as you flip the pages of this 300-page
political chronicle.
A man of the people: ideological cleavages and political manoeuvring
The book starts off with the African National Congress’ (ANC) 2007 elective conference in
Polokwane, where Jacob Zuma prevailed as the ultimate victor. The authors neatly unpack the
antecedent factors of Zuma’s ascent to power as a so-called ‘Trojan Horse’ candidate for the
‘coalition of the wounded’ – embodied by Cosatu (Congress of South African Trade Unions)
and the SACP (South African Communist party) – on the left of the ANC’s ideological divide.
They felt disillusioned by Former President Thabo Mbeki’s conservative fiscal and
macroeconomic policies and the gradual ascendance of the presidency as the centre of power.
As a result, they saw Zuma, a man of the people, as the perfect antidote to the aloof and
stubborn Mbeki; and in the process enabling the alliance to regain power within the ANC and,
by extension, the country.
The authors then impressively lay out how this Faustian bargain between Zuma and the loose
coalition that brought him to power in 2007 began to sour as his supporters started ratcheting
up the pressure on him to come good on his promises. However, Zuma was no longer interested
in placating his supporters and instead went ‘rogue.’ As the authors describe on page 18: “Even
though the different interest groups had the same goal ahead of the Polokwane conference and
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the 2009 general election, it was clear the unity of purpose could not last. Zuma never had a
clear vision or mission for the ANC, or the country, when he agreed to front the assault on
Mbeki.” Indeed, by the time the ANC’s next elective conference in Mangaung came about,
Zuma had neutralised the governing alliance, centralised power in himself and comfortably
won 75% of the votes. He no longer needed rabble-rouser youth leaders or trade unionists to
hold onto power, instead, Zuma became the ANC, and the ANC became Zuma.
Corruption, patronage, and institutional capture
Coming into the presidency with 783 unadjudicated corruption charges, Jacob Zuma was, to
put it mildly, a deeply compromised man. As Zuma’s power increased, his funders went from
merely unsavoury to positively rotten. From arms dealers to tobacco smugglers to businessmen
like the Gupta family, it is patently clear that Zuma was not in it to take South Africa forward,
rather, his goal was to evade prison and enrich himself and those around him. Basson and du
Toit demonstrate this by recounting the Nkandla debacle very effectively. Although most of
what they cover in the book is already in the public domain, they do a good job at capturing
the lengths to which Zuma went to evade any form of accountability for his actions and the
important role that the media played in shedding light on this controversy. Indeed, Enemy of
the People is a timely reminder of the colossal role journalists play in ensuring a well-informed
public and robust democracy that holds power to account.
No book about corruption in South Africa can be written without mentioning the Guptas.
Indeed, the authors expertly bring across the Machiavellian nature of the symbiotic relationship
between Jacob Zuma and the Guptas, which was mostly facilitated through his son, Duduzane
Zuma, who provided the brothers with direct access to the president. The book details how the
#GuptaLeaks enabled the media to expose this corrupt relationship - which assumed the
moniker ‘Zuptas’ - and how they have effectively captured the state for private gain. The book
conveys the impunity with which Zuma acted to enrich the Guptas and protect them from
prosecution. Where Mbeki had tinkered with the heads of justice and police, Zuma dived right
in, selecting ‘pliable’ deputies and unit commanders, such as Berning Ntlemeza, who headed
the police unit charged with investigating (or not) serious crimes such as corruption. As the
authors state on page 77, “[a]rguably Zuma’s most destructive legacy is the capture and
neutralisation of South Africa’s criminal-justice institutions.”
The book also astutely communicates the sheer scale of the Zuptas’ reach into state institutions.
The authors explain how Zuma pressured ministers to approve ruinous nuclear deals, buy
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aircraft at exorbitant prices and off-load critical defence intellectual property in business deals
solely benefiting the Guptas and his circle of cronies. The coffers of electricity (Eskom) and
rail (Transnet) parastatals were raided to pay truly astronomical amounts by means of patently
illegal contracts for feeble consultancy advice.
The most poignant part of Enemy of the People is, arguably, the chapters detailing the firing of
former finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his predecessor Nhlanhla Nene, who were two
important shining lights in the abyss of corruption and cronyism. These sections, which are
peppered with direct quotes from former treasury director-general Lungisa Fuzile, explain how
Nene was fired, replaced with ANC back-bencher Des van Rooyen, who, only four days later,
was replaced by Pravin Gordhan. The book also explains how Gordhan and his entourage was
recalled from an international fundraising trip to be fired by Jacob Zuma, in a section that reads
like a spy novel. The account of this time perfectly captures the bewilderment and sense of
crisis that South Africans were experiencing, nestled within the emotional strife endured by
those who were just trying to do the right thing.
How the people fought back
The Enemy of the People, however, also focuses on the ‘fight back’ mounted by the public
against the scourge of state capture. Here the authors deployed their skills as on-the-ground
journalists by giving credit where credit is due – our robust and resilient civil society.
Organisations such as Save South Africa, the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Right to Know
campaign are a few organisations mentioned in the book that played a leading role in
galvanising the public against corruption and the misuse of public resources for private gain.
This section also demonstrated the importance of the courts in balancing the power of the
executive and parliament, as many civil society organisations employed the courts to keep a
check on the abuse of state power.
Conclusion
Overall, the book provides an accurate and not-too-dense chronology of state capture. The book
describes, in harrowing detail, the systemic and impressively coordinated manner in which
South Africa was brought to its knees. From the infamous Waterkloof incident, involving the
Guptas making use of the national key point as their own private airport, to the shameless
usurping of the finance family, Eskom, South African Airways (SAA) and other state-owned
enterprises (SOEs); the authors provide a detailed, yet easily accessible, exposition of Zuma’s
all-out assault on the nation’s coffers and moral fabric. This is a must-read for every citizen.
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What I learnt from the book
The first, and most important, thing I learnt from Enemy of the People is the salience of strong
democratic institutions to temper partisan or personal interests. Something that really struck
me was the failure of parliament, a crucial aspect of our system of checks and balances, to hold
President Jacob Zuma to account based on the public protector’s findings. It is precisely this
refusal to exercise their constitutionally mandated role of oversight over the executive that
enabled Zuma and his political protectors to drag their feet for years in the implementation of
the public protector’s recommendations. By ensuring that South Africa’s democratic
institutions are functioning, strong and well-capacitated, we can go a long way in preventing
the rise of another megalomaniac.
Another related lesson that I gleaned from the book was the importance of an independent
media and judiciary in a functioning and healthy democracy. I shudder to think what may have
occurred if South Africa did not have such an outspoken and free press. The president’s
failings, although tedious in the unmasking, are, thanks to an independent press and judiciary,
now notorious. As a consequence of these exposés and the ongoing work of the Zondo
Commission, we can confidently accuse several high-ranking police officers, taxmen,
prosecutors, lawyers, and politicians of the highest crime: keeping treason in office for so long.
Thanks to hardworking men and women in the media, the keepers cannot slink away into other
pursuits as easily as they hoped.
I also learnt about the importance of whistleblowers and comprehensive protection for those
who stand up for what is right. Corruption exposés enable us to uncover maleficence and bring
perpetrators to book, but those who put their lives, careers, and families at risk to bring this
information to light are often harassed, ostracised and not adequately protected.
Furthermore, the extent to which the ANC is steeped in, and arguably sustained by, corruption
and patronage is another important lesson learnt from this book. Bathabile Dlamini sums it up
best when she stated, “All of us there in the NEC have our smallanyana skeletons and we don’t
want to take out all skeletons because all hell will break loose.” This indicates the depth of
moral bankruptcy and the lack of ethical leadership present within the ANC. If leaders cannot
hold themselves and fellow leaders to account, no amount of constitutional precepts will
prevent them from influencing, finding loopholes, subverting the truth, and employing other
‘legal’ means of furthering their own ends. This prompts the question of whether South Africa
can truly progress with the ANC at the helm.
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Bibliography
Santayana, G. 1905. The life of reason. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books
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