J-scribe

The President-in-waiting and the head of the police force are facing corruption charges. It’s alleged the politician took bribes from arms dealers…his anthem sung by loyal followers is translated as “bring me my machine gun”. The police chief is linked to a crime boss, who is in turn implicated in a high profile murder, but is favoured by the current president whose days are numbered thanks to the successful power-bid by his allegedly corrupt political rival. Meanwhile, the Chief Prosecutor planning to bring the action against the police chief is stood down by the current president and a senior intelligence operative in charge of the investigation is arrested in an apparently retaliatory strike.

You may think it sounds like the plot of a best selling crime drama which sees corruption and organised crime reaching all the way to the presidency but it’s actually the real life drama unfolding in crime-ridden South Africa (SA) as the Rainbow Nation morphs into Banana Republic.

SA President, Thabo Mbeki, stood by the National Commissioner for Police, Jackie Selebi until it was announced this week that he would face charges of corruption and defeating the course of justice. Selebi is now on extended leave and he’s been forced to resign from his position as president of the international crime fighting body, Interpol.

Selebi is accused of racketeering, money laundering, bribery and fraud. Central to these allegations is his “friendship” with the convicted SA drug trafficker, Dennis Agliotti, who is also facing charges connected to the murder of mining magnate, Brett Kebble. A payment of approximately AU $200,000, luxury gifts allegedly given to Selebi, his wife, mistress and children by Agliotti, along with claims Selebi turned a blind eye to drug-smuggling are features of the evidence against him. It's also alleged he received a payment from Kebble, the slain mining magnate.

Shortly after informing Mbeki in writing that the National Prosecuting Authority was investigating Selebi, the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, was stood down. Months of speculation surrounding the case against Selebi ensued as the hesitant acting DPP, Mokotedi Mpshe, kept his cards close to his chest and the elite crime unit in charge of the investigation known as the Scorpions built their case against the police chief.

Then, as the NPA prepared to pounce, the Scorpions’ chief investigator in the case, Gerrie Nel, was arrested in a public show of strength by a barrage of police officers. He was charged with corruption and defeating the ends of justice but those charges were withdrawn this week after Selebi failed in a last ditch bid in the Pretoria High Court to have the investigation against him halted.

Meantime, the man who defeated Mbeki as President of the ANC late last year, Jacob Zuma, is preparing to go to trial on separate corruption charges. Zuma, who has already defeated one lot of similar charges and an allegation of rape, is effectively SA’s President-elect as the leader of the ruling political party.

Zuma, who was sacked as Deputy President by Mbeki in 2005, faces 16 charges including racketeering, corruption, money laundering and fraud. The charges revolve around his his dealings with arms companies (two SA subsidiaries of Thales International - formerly Thomson-CFS - are also facing charges of racketeering and corruption). Zuma’s former financial advisor is already serving jail time for fraud and corruption in connection with the arms deal scandal.

Zuma’s supporters allege the case against him has been politically manipulated by Mbeki. Mbeki is simultaneously accused of striving to protect his disgraced police chief.

Zuma is expected to stand trial in August while Selebi will appear in court on February 1st.

But more pressing than official corruption in the lives of everyday South Africans is the extraordinarily high rate of violent crime. Murder, rape, armed robbery and car-jackings are commonplace in what’s regarded as one of the world’s most dangerous countries. For example, the murder rate in SA is eight times the international average and according to the latest crime statistics, violent home break-ins have increased by 7%, truck hijacking by over 53% and robberies on business have risen by more than 29%.

The police are pushing the good news angle that murder and violent assault decreased slightly over the same period but that is surely of little comfort to the people who the same statistics render less safe in their homes and workplaces than on the street.

It's hardly the Rainbow Nation dream envisaged by Nelson Mandela and the optimistic young democracy that embraced his leadership in the 1990's. And the hope that characterised those early days is gradually being replaced by fear and cynicism...hope won't fill the stomach or keep the door bolted against intruders.

Further Reading: The Editor of the independent South African quality newspaper, Mail and Guardian, Ferial Haffajee has written an insightful piece of analysis on the sad state of SA affairs. She says "Post-Polokwane (the recent ANC conference @ which Zuma was elected Party President - Jp), our country has lost its standing... This view is reinforced by the corruption charges against national police commissioner Jackie Selebi. When the man who wants to be president and the country’s top cop both face serious charges of accepting bribes, racketeering and selling their souls to crooked businessmen, we can reach no other conclusion." You can read the full article here

Update: As if that weren't enough to make you mutter "that country's turning into a basket case" try this: SA has been plunged into darkness by persistent power cuts due to electricity shortages that point to the chronic failure of the system of supply. Trains have been stopped mid-journey (prompting some protesting commuters to set carriages alight); tourists at Cape Town's Table Mountain were left stranded mid-air in cable cars last night (21/1) when the power failed; traffic lights go out at busy Jo'burg intersections; newspaper's printing presses are halted; international investment is under threat as is the economy. Now South Africans are being told electricity rationing will be enforced.

Meantime, Zuma has launched an attack on the SA media, indicating he won't be stepping away from Mbeki's anti-free speech stance. He is currently suing a range of journalists and publications along with a leading cartoonist for defamation. You can read about his stance here and here.

And, the elite crime investigation unit, the Scorpions, which headed the Selebi inquiry is being disbanded by the Mbeki government and merged with the South African Police Service. That's one way to thwart corruption probes.

Further Update: 28/1/08 The power crisis is now so severe SA's economy-dependent gold and platinum mines are being shut down for days at a time. Meanwhile Kiwi anti-apartheid activist John Minto has rejected the top SA honour for foreigners saying he was too dismayed with the state of the country to accept the award. In an open letter to President Mbeki, he wrote "...we were not fighting for a small black elite to become millionaires... .The faces at the top have changed from white to black but the substance of change is an illusion."

For a lighter, brighter perspective on the current crises besetting SA read this blog post    [read more]