Re-elected president
Election results guarantee a second five-year term for Zuma, with the ANC gaining a 62.2% share of the vote according to the national election commission. Leading opposition, Democratic Alliance, has 22.2% of the vote, it’s best result ever; the party said it gained 1.1 million new voters, including 700,000 votes from black South Africans.
Wins access to ‘spy tapes’
Zille wins a five-year legal battle to obtain the so called “spy tapes”. The phone-taps are the basis of a 2009 decision by prosecutors to drop the charges against Zuma, saying there was political involvement in decision to press charges, just before the election in which he became President. Zille, who asked for the tapes so that the decision can be re-assessed, walks out of the High Court in Pretoria with a “tamper evident security bag” containing transcripts of recordings and a memory stick. Zille:
South Africa’s democracy depends on this case. No-one is above the law.
Zuma denies the charges, insisting he is the victim of a “political conspiracy” hatched by his opponents in the governing ANC to prevent him from becoming president.
Leaders urge delay
Heads of state of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, plus South African President Zuma meet in Tanzania to discuss a political crisis in Burundi triggered by the president’s plan to run for a third term. Nkurunziza doesn’t attend, and is represented by the country’s foreign minister, Aime. Rwanda also sends a minister rather than the head of state. The leaders call for the postponement of elections by at least a month and a half. Tanzania’s President Kikwete:
The leaders have been trying to navigate our way so we can help the people of Burundi to land safely under the current circumstances.
Releases Marikana report
Almost three years since 34 men were shot dead on a hillside by South African Police, following the death of 10 other people, including police officers and mine security staff, Zuma releases the Marikana Report. the report calls for an investigation into the National Police Commissioner’s fitness to hold office. The commission also recommends that the North West Provincial Commissioner Zukiswa Mbombo, be investigated as well.
I have written to the national commissioner to inform her of the recommendations pertaining to her…The commission recommends a full investigation…with a view to ascertaining criminal liability on the part of all members of the SAPS members who were involved.
The commission largely cleared members of the executive for their role in the shooting, saying Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa did not cause the shooting. Zuma:
The commission found that the executive played no role in the decision of the police to implement the tactical role.
It said the deaths of 10 people, ahead of the massacre should be criminally investigated. The Marikana workers are unhappy about being given such short notice of Zuma’s conference, but do not contest it as they want what they term the truth, to be released.
NPA files papers
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) files its papers in the spy tapes case, after missing the previous deadline. In response to the DA’s questioning of the NPA’s decision to withdraw criminal charges against Zuma after his election as ANC leader, the NPA papers argue that Zuma was charged with corruption to stop then President Thabo Mbeki from being recalled.
Zuma impeachment motion notice
The Democratic Alliance gives the National Assembly notice of a motion to be debated on August 18 for the impeachment against President Zuma. DA leader Maimane:
The events that led to the escape of Bashir represent a clear violation of the president’s oath to ‘obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other law of the Republic’ and serve as nothing less than grounds for his removal from office in terms of section 89[1][a] of the Constitution. In blatant disregard of their legal obligations, however, Cabinet granted Bashir immunity while attending the summit of the African Union [AU] in June, and subsequently allowed him to escape the country. President Zuma, as the head of the Cabinet, bears ultimate responsibility for this decision.
The ANC says the proposed motion is a publicity stunt by the DA:
Section 89 of the Constitution states amongst others that the president may only be removed from office for a serious violation of the Constitution or the law. No court of law has ever found the president guilty of violation of the law or the Constitution. In the absence of any constitutional or legal basis, Mmusi Maimane’s motion amounts to political posturing and is not worth the paper it is written on. As we have repeatedly stated, all heads of states and delegates that attended the African Union summit in Sandton were granted diplomatic immunity by the government in line with international standards and practices related to events such as the one held recently in our country.
Defends failure to arrest
After Maimane, head of the Democratic Alliance, calls Bashir ‘a man wanted … for genocide against Africans,” and asks Zuma why he had not kept previous promises to enforce the warrant – as all ICC members are bound to do, Zuma tells paparliament Bashir would have been detained if he had visited South Africa as an individual, rather than as a delegate to an AU summit.
Bashir’s coming to South Africa, it was on the invitation of the AU (African Union). He is the guest of the AU.
Zuma receives support from one of his critics, EFF leader Malema, who tells parliament:
We are not going to agree for the arrest of an African leader in South Africa to polarise Africa and make South Africa an enemy of the whole of Africa.
Police recruited
The Speaker of the National Assembly says that South African Police Services officers had been recruited by parliament. The police officers have resigned from the police force and signed on as parliamentary employees. The EFF says the
Speaker of Parliament…must come prepared to tell Zuma to answer the question as to when is he going to pay back the money unduly spent in Nkandla. The EFF would like to reiterate that it will never be intimidated by all these efforts by the African National Congress-controlled parliament to use force and protect Zuma against a question.
Acting parliamentary spokesperson refuses to answer whether these individuals are going to be in action in the National Assembly.
Zuma says persuasion limited
In response to a question from the Inkatha Freedom Party, who cites Burundi as an example, Zuma says he tried to dissuade Nkurunziza from seeking a third term but hit a wall when his pleas were ignored.
Many of us interacted to say that might not help the country. We cannot say there was no effort to solve that African problem. I sent an envoy. He said it is not going to cause trouble, he has taken a decision and the constitution is on his side. Once you have reached that stage… when an African leader is not interested, that becomes difficult…No military men can take over as they please. There are a few exceptions. Burundi, where even its own regions could not persuade it … but even there the man is not saying he is going to stay forever… he has argued the point through the constitution and the court has supported him. We can’t force people, we have to talk to them, nudge them.
He says leaders have to respect the sovereignty of other African nations while they try to resolve problems.
It does not mean we will solve all matters at the right time…we are not going to ride roughshod over constitutions.
Calls death ‘just an incident’
Zuma brushes aside the killing of Cecil.
What it sounds like from a distance [is] that the hunter did not know that Cecil was so popular, just saw a lion, and killed a lion, and it’s Cecil, and Cecil is very well loved and it caused a problem, because everyone wants to go and see Cecil. I think it’s just an incident. I was told by somebody that there is a brother of Cecil. Who? There is Jericho. Thanks God, now people will ask if Jericho is among these lions and they will not shoot, I would imagine. Really I didn’t think it could become such a big issue, but it is a big issue because Cecil was loved. But I think maybe that the fellow did not know. And he just took a nice lion and it was Cecil. I think Zimbabwe has laws about hunting and everything, I don’t think it’s a matter we could really debate that much.
The President of Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe responds:
I’m surprised that President Zuma would make a such a comment with regard to an animal hunted in a neighbouring country. I find it very undiplomatic and very unfair to comment on a sovereign state.