It is surprising, in some ways, that the court’s instructions to the NPA to hand over the so-called Zuma tapes have been ignored so often. These are the tapes that led to corruption charges against our President being dropped and the DA want to hear them. The Supreme Court of Appeal has already ruled that these must be handed over to the DA and on the basis of tenuous legal arguments the NPA have declined to hand them over for one year so far.

Judge Mathopo has now ordered that they have to be handed over in five days and it will be interesting to see if indeed they are handed over, which is probably unlikely, or in playing for time President Zuma and his advisors now launch another appeal. The highest court in the country has already ruled, and all of these games only make the President and his advisors look even worse. It makes one think that there is something on the tapes that would indicate that there was no real basis to drop the corruption charges against Zuma. It also creates interesting constitutional issues, because we have one body, namely the Presidency, ignoring the instructions of another, namely the judiciary and it is most unfortunate that the court decisions have not already been honoured and listened to. It damages the moral fibre of our country and endangers our democracy.