Corruption in South Africa spells the fall of Zuma

Zuma is on the outs

South African President Robert Zuma is placed at the scene of the crime several times in a report on statewide corruption. His fate as President hangs with the opinion the African National Congress has of him, but their opinion may be forced: Pretoria shut down with protests yesterday.

In what seems like more than a coincidence, Zuma recently directed the country to leave the International Criminal Court. He did take one chance: he pinned his hopes to the idea that the new public prosecutor would be more forgiving than her predecessor. He was so, so wrong about Busisiwe Mkhwebane.

She didn’t get him with his emails, though: cellphone records show Zuma in the same buildings where bribes took place.

↩︎ posted Nov. 3, 2016

He didn’t get into finance for the money

Things started getting fishy earlier this year when a total nobody, relatively speaking, was named finance minister, a high post. That’s because the expected candidate turned down a $44 million bribe from the Guptas, a family Zuma is seen to favor.

Also: a couple of days ago, the super-rich Gupta family announced it was selling off all its South African holdings.

↩︎ posted Nov. 3, 2016

African corruption is almost always enabled and encouraged by its Western, allegedly more rarefied counterparts.

↩︎ posted Nov. 3, 2016

The case of the international Criminal Court

Zuma was a leader in the African movement to quit the International Criminal Court, which was founded to target corruption in Africa. His case had been gaining steam: Burundi and Gambia joined South Africa in leaving, though neighboring Botswana was quickest to denounce the move.

Kenya, currently under investigation, could open the floodgates by deciding to exit.

Despite its perceived bias, we recently found out the court is poised to investigate the United States for the first time, for war crimes in Afghanistan. That raises the possibility that African countries may initiate their own cases against non-African countries through the ICC

↩︎ posted Nov. 3, 2016

Today, if you want to win an election in Africa, you just have to have the West bash you.

The ICC’s missteps in investigating corruption cases in Kenyan elections, many personnel-driven, opened the door for broader pessimism about its purpose.

↩︎ New York Times Magazine, posted Nov. 3, 2016