zuma-has-obligation-report-those-who-are-stealing-says-maimane

Zuma has an obligation to report ‘those who are stealing’, says Maimane

 President Jacob Zuma has a legal obligation to report to the law enforcement authorities those who he knows to be engaged in criminal behaviour, and if he does not do so he is undermining the fight against corruption, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said on Sunday.

Mmusi Maimane at the ROC

Media reports have quoted Zuma as having said, among other things, “Those are the thieves and I know they are stealing. I’m just watching them. I know them”.



Maimane said if Zuma was to be believed, he was enjoined by section 34(1) and (2) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act to report “those who are stealing” to the South African Police Service (SAPS).



“For president Zuma to hold onto this information for political reasons undermines the fight against corruption and it makes him an accessory to crime,” he said.



“On Tuesday, 15 November 2016, I laid charges (CAS 70/11/2016) against President Zuma in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act; I will therefore ask the SAPS to widen their investigation in order to investigate those people known by the president to be stealing.”



It was irresponsible and illegal for the president of the country to sit on information that related to corruption and to not take this information to those empowered to investigate and prosecute, but it came as no surprise as Zuma showed little understanding of the negative impact of corruption. This was the same man who once argued that corruption was a “Western paradigm” crime where there were “no victims”.



With each passing day, Zuma continued to prove that he was not fit to be the president of South Africa. He was compromised and had compromised the functioning of the state by undermining key state agencies and the rule of law.



“The Democratic Alliance will continue to fight against corruption and those who engage in this most heinous of acts, which robs the people of opportunities,” Maimane said.



On Friday, a defiant Zuma told African National Congress supporters at a cadres forum in Pietermaritzburg that he was not a thief but knew those who were fleecing state coffers.



“The truth is I am not a thief and there is no evidence to support this claim. The truth is those who are accusing me of stealing are the ones who are enriching themselves through theft. I know who they are,” he said.


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