5 South African ‘Super’ Heroes in the Age of Zuma

While “Batman v Superman” plays out on movie screens, South Africa has some real superheroes who have swooped in during the presidency of Jacob Zuma to save the day. You might love them or disagree with them, but they deserve recognition and admiration.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng

The chief justice, who brought an end to the four-year long Nkandla saga, read a stirring and eloquent decision on Thursday that brought up the wonderful, great aspirations that most South Africans had for this country when Nelson Mandela came to power.

He elucidated what the president of South Africa should stand for, and then he said that Zuma had failed to uphold, respect or defend the constitution, and he had failed the public protector.

It was a great moment for South African democracy, where the judiciary showed, once again, that it is independent and smart.

Interestingly, Mogoeng was appointed to the Constitutional Court by Zuma in 2009 and was made Chief Justice in 2011 under much criticism from politicians and lawyers.

Thuli Madonsela, Public Protector

To many South Africans she is the epitome of honesty and humility, and Mogoeng called her the “Biblical David” fighting against a Goliath. Advocate Madonsela, you could see from her smile on Thursday, must have had a brilliant day as the Constitutional Court found that Zuma had failed to protect her and her position, which was to highlight injustices and corruption in the country; and that the national assembly had failed to hold Zuma accountable.

Madonsela’s report into the Nkandla upgrades had recommended remedial measures be taken for non-security additions to the benefit of Zuma’s property, but she was repeatedly second-guessed and vilified by African National Congress leaders.

Ironically, again, Madonsela was appointed by Zuma. Her five-year term ends in October. Before that, Madonsela has been asked by the DA and a church group to investigate the Gupta family.

Pravin Gordhan, Finance Minister

If anyone can be pointed out as the one who singlehandedly saved South Africa when things seemed they couldn’t get any worse, it was Gordhan. After Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene was removed by Zuma in December and replaced by unknown backbencher Des van Rooyen, the rand plummeted and the world cottoned on to Zuma’s lack of understanding of economics.

The market took a swift nosedive. Within a few days Gordhan, a former finance minister, was put in the position and quickly got to reassuring South Africans and the markets that he could do the job.

Despite attacks – sinister, some have branded them – by the SA Police Hawks unit to interrogate Gordhan over a so-called rogue unit operating in the SA Revenue Service when he was its leader, Gordhan has stood his ground. And South Africa’s.

Gordhan was also reportedly the first finance minister to refuse to attend a breakfast at the time of the budget speech held by the New Age, the Gupta-owned newspaper.

Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters leader

Love him or hate him and his politics, the firebrand Malema has been like a bulldog going after Zuma, #PayBacktheMoney his war cry, followed by #ZuptasMustFall, and the EFF is the party that took the case to the Constitutional Court (although the Democratic Alliance and others did join afterwards), saying that Zuma had failed to respect the Public Protector.

While the DA is quieter and does things by the books, for the most part, Malema is in-your-face, shouts at the top of his voice, but gets his message across. The former ANC Youth League leader is probably Zuma’s worst nightmare. Since being expelled from the ANC in 2012 – most likely at Zuma’s behest – he has turned the EFF into a force.

Mcebisi Jonas, Deputy Finance Minister

Jonas – often looking like he’s come from a frantic meeting, with his tie noticeably loose – is the most high-ranking member of the ANC to come forward so far to assert that the Gupta family offered him a cabinet post (as finance minister) before it was even made public that there would be a cabinet post available. A short while later, Nhlanhla Nene was removed as finance minister, sending South Africa’s financial market into a tailspin.