By Wally Mbhele
Johannesburg – Those who know Jacob Zuma very well are familiar with his habit of pushing his spectacles up his nose as he contemplates his next political move.
He apparently does it when engaged in a game of chess, which he is reputed to have learnt on Robben Island.
When he was president of the republic, he would occasionally push his glasses up his nose whenever he faced an awkward political moment in parliament.
Those who have recently seen and spoken to him tell a story of a man who constantly uses his middle finger to lift his glasses up his nose.
They say it appears Zuma is dealing with a huge struggle within his conscience – and he’s sensing that he is losing it.
Zuma is apparently at a breaking point though he does not want to appear to be a man addicted by guilt.
Though he is on the skids, he appears far from falling apart, so the story goes. What worries some of his inner circle is how the man suddenly prefers to be alone most of the time.
They fear he could be emotionally disintegrating. Some believe the old man (as they like to call him) might have reached a breaking point; to the extent that he can do anything possible – yes anything – as he tries to li himself out of his current political quagmire.
The clock is ticking. Tomorrow will reveal whether Zuma has a trick up his sleeve if he refuses to present himself before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture as directed by the Constitutional Court. All indications are that he will not go.
But he seems ready to pull the trigger. For Zuma, the law plays second ddle to politics, something he successfully used against former president Thabo Mbeki to pave the way for the total capture of the South African state, mainly by foreign forces, including family members and political acolytes.
He has in recent weeks demonstrated a psychology of a dictator who relies on the blind loyalty of followers to have his way.
Zuma wants to push the country to the brink. He does this by using the mentality of political victimhood to rally support.
Dictators such as Polish general Wojciech Jaruzelski recognised how tragic and dangerous the consequences could be if a leader was to throw himself and his followers “over the edge of the ravine” just because a leader wants to “be theatrical”. Zuma’s dangerous political gambit will have tragic and devastating consequences for this country if it is encouraged to continue. The whole country must frown upon his political theatrics.
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