South African President Cyril Zamaphosa supposedly has no love for disgraced ex-Presiden Jacob Zuma. But he nevertheless seems to have closed ranks with his African National Congress ex-colleague. He has arranged, in a barely disguised manner, to spring Zuma from prison ... again. And in doing so, he has sprung thousands of other criminals as well.
The former president, now 81, was given a 15 month sentence in 2021 for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into systematic corruption of state institutions during his rule. A few months later he was released on suspicious "medical grounds", but then re-incarcerated after a court ruling.
Now, Ramaphosa has granted a special remission pardon for 10,000 non-violent prisoners, ostensibly due to overcrowding and health risks, one of whom just happens to be ... Jacob Zuma. The unusual circumstances in which this was done makes it particularly suspicious and opposition parties are incensed, calling it a cynical and manipulative move to set Jacob Zuma free".
The world has gradually lost patience with South Africa, which has gradually squandered all the goodwill it was offered after Nelson Mandela's release. Years of corruption, grift, and its recent support of Putin's ambitions in Ukraine, have meant that South Africa is once more a pariah - just a black-run pariah rather than a white-run one.
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