This archive report was first published on 12 July 2021.
Published on July 12, 2021, the world witnessed a historic moment as former South African President Jacob Zuma was admitted to jail for contempt of court.
As crowds gathered outside his home in Nkandla, the spectre of a former president going to jail sparked debate across Africa about the possibility of such an event.
However, Zuma's decision to heed the counsel of an ancestor spirit and travel the road to prison rather than defy the court order saved the day.
The court officials had pleaded with him to comply, but his initial defiance left them with no choice but to order him to hand himself over.
His refusal to appear and testify in a case that drew great public attention was a clear indication of his disregard for the rule of law.
As we reflect on this moment, it is essential to acknowledge the sense of entitlement that often surrounds our rulers in Africa.
Despite going through the motions of a modern political process, they often behave as if they own us, treating us as nothing more than their chattels.
The South African apartheid nightmare came to a close in the early 1990s with a constitutional dispensation that we hailed as a model for the continent.
However, the frailty of the spirit of agency in the body politic soon tested these ideals.
It is clear that the education of the last man or woman is pivotal in ensuring proper behaviour on the part of our governors.
Otherwise, we are left wondering how our leaders, who are literally made our gods, turn out to be mostly scoundrels.
We must take responsibility for our actions and acknowledge that we have very little sense of public service.
Every opportunity that comes our way is another chance to 'eat,' and the eating I'm talking about here denotes humongous appetites.
As we focus on Zuma's plight, it is essential to remember that he has disgraced himself and is being humbled as a result.
However, there is something that stabs everyone of us in the gut when we see a person who symbolised our collective soul at some stage in the past dragged into the mire.
What we need is admonition, not execution.
