Since the dawn of democracy, leaders who have assumed the presidential seat at the Union Buildings have made a solid commitment to the citizens of South Africa.
Every incoming president has uttered the following statement: “In the presence of everyone assembled here, and in full realisation of the high calling I assume as President of the Republic of South Africa, I swear that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa, and will obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other law of the Republic and I solemnly and sincerely promise that I will always promote all that will advance the Republic, oppose all that may harm it, protect and promote the rights of all South Africans, discharge my duties with all my strength and talents to the best of my knowledge and ability and true to the dictates of my conscience, do justice to all and devote myself to the well-being of the Republic and all of its people. So help me God.”
The power of this statement can never be doubted, nor is it ambiguous.
It clearly outlines the duty and responsibility that ought to be upheld by every leader in this country – whether it is at a regional, provincial or national level.
The action by former president Jacob Zuma to hand himself over is nothing to be celebrated. In fact, it has nothing to do with affirming comments made by factions that exist within or outside the ruling party.
What that action does is to remind us that it should be our fervent hope that by handing himself over to the police, the former statesman is doing so in the interest of the citizens of this country and in keeping with the oath of office that he took on May 9, 2009.
That the vow he made, to protect and serve this country with dignity, is truly sincere. While indications are that Zuma will probably only serve four months of his 15-month sentence, it is incumbent on us, as a society, to ask ourselves how we arrived at the point where courts have to compel our senior leaders to do the right thing?
We ought to ask ourselves if the leaders we put into power or those who will be placed into a higher office in the future have the conscience to always do the right thing and put the interest of the people first, or are we always going to see corruption rule all the days of our lives?
The Star