Legalities are hiding the truth

There is now just not one single week that goes by without a new story on how the ANC is bending, abusing and raping the legal system. And our dearest Jacob has not even taken over the reigns. We are in for a bumpy ride folks.

When there are reports that the Department of Correctional Services has asked concerned South Africans to provide reasons why the motivation for the medical parole of Schabir Shaik should be made public knowledge, what are we to think?

That the department is not familiar with any circumstances that would lead not only opposition parties to raise questions but ordinary South Africans as well, is just too far-fetched.

Why must the entire country carry on as if Shaik had never been linked to the likeliest presidential candidate in a criminal trial?

It is all good and well to proclaim that all procedure has been followed and that lawfully speaking, everything is above board. But surely it is more than just about the law?

The law should always come first, yes, but when there is a question of a moral breach within the law, should the government not go beyond what is required of them to assure the people it represents that their faith in them is well-placed?

There are the sensibilities of millions of South Africans that have to be considered, beyond procedure. It is unfortunate that the Ministry of Correctional Services should go on the defensive as it has, claiming that no such level of interest has been shown in the granting of medical parole to other prisoners.

Shaik is not like other prisoners. The fact of his connections is no secret and it is these connections that justify the extraordinary interest in the matter. It seems to go hand in hand with the party’s seeming disbelief at the concerns raised about the inclusion of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on their candidate list.

Granted, the question of Shaik’s parole is not, technically speaking, an issue for the ANC. But considering the muscle it wields in all spheres of government, which in the past it has not been shy to demonstrate, all it would take is another late night meeting at Luthuli House to decide whether or not we deserve to know, which we do.

The longer we pretend that all that matters is following procedure, the bigger the gaps between truth and deceit become.

The ANC has long prided itself as an institution whose members have made the greatest of sacrifices for the good of the country.

Let them sacrifice procedure and give us the truth.