Why Ex-Leader Zuma’s Arrest Has Cast South Africa Into Turmoil

(Bloomberg) -- When Jacob Zuma was South Africa’s president, he clung to power through scandal after scandal, fending off multiple attempts to remove him. He finally quit in 2018 under threat of impeachment when his own party, the African National Congress, turned against him in the face of steeply falling electoral support. The law caught up with the 79-year-old Zuma in July, when he defied a court order to testify before a graft inquiry. His jailing triggered protests that claimed at least 10 lives, saw hundreds of businesses looted and weakened the country’s currency.

1. Who is Zuma?

A former intelligence operative, Zuma spent a decade in prison for fighting against White minority rule, rose through the ranks of the ANC after his release and became deputy president in 1999. He was fired from the post in 2005 after being implicated in a scandal involving bribes from arms dealers -- a case that’s dragged on for years and is currently before the courts. He staged a comeback when he enlisted the support of labor unions to win control of the ANC in 2007, and the presidency in 2009.

2. What did he do in office?

Government debt and the state’s wage bill skyrocketed during his almost nine years in office, which was characterized by policy missteps and inappropriate appointments. Dozens of witnesses who’ve testified before a judicial commission headed by acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo have placed him at the center of an orchestrated campaign to steal billions of rand from state coffers.

3. What forced Zuma out?

The ANC hemorrhaged support in 2016 municipal elections and lost control of several major cities. It forced Zuma to resign as president in 2018, two months after he stepped down as its leader. Cyril Ramaphosa took control of the party after he narrowly defeated Zuma’s ex-wife and favored successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the former head of the African Union Commission, in an internal election for the post.

4. How did Zuma end up in jail?

The Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma had to testify before Zondo to respond to the allegations that he’d facilitated and been party to endemic corruption. He defied that instruction and charged that Zondo was biased against him because they had a close personal relationship -- an allegation Zondo denies. Zuma was convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months in jail. He was taken into custody after refusing to hand himself in, and is being held in a prison in Estcourt in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province. The ex-president maintains his innocence and accuses the top court of convicting him of contempt without a trial, and of not giving him the opportunity to argue for a lighter sentence. He’ll be eligible for parole in less than four months, but could spend longer behind bars if convicted in his bribery case.

5. Why such a strong reaction?

While Zuma’s influence has diminished since he left office, he remains a political heavyweight. He retains strong backing in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal and among some members of his Zulu ethnic group, who buy his argument that he’s been victimized. While his incarceration was the spark that set off the unrest, the violence has been fueled by widespread outrage over high levels of poverty and unemployment. The upheaval coincided with the extension of a coronavirus lockdown that’s hurting businesses and robbed many people of their livelihoods in a nation with a 32.6% unemployment rate. The pandemic caused the economy to shrink 7% last year, the biggest contraction in a century, forcing many firms to shut and others to cut wages and staff. Many of those who’ve joined the protests appear to be taking advantage of the instability to loot stores and better their dire economic circumstances.

6. How serious has the unrest been?

The demonstrations have been among the worst the country has seen since apartheid ended in 1994. More than 200 malls were targeted in the first four days of the protests in KwaZulu-Natal and the central Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, the economic hub, and which also has a large Zulu population. Mobs took to looting homes in some areas after stores were cleared out. The country’s biggest banks and retail chains shut outlets, and traffic on some of the main transport routes was disrupted. The unrest has weighed on the rand, which slumped to a three-month low against the dollar.

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