Pietermaritzburg – The last-hour announcement that, due to medical issues, former president Jacob Zuma would not be physically in Pietermaritzburg did not deter some of his supporters from coming to court.
Among the supporters at court on Tuesday was Inkosi Daliwonga, of the Abathembu tribal authority in Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape.
Daliwonga, who has always attended Zuma’s court matters, said he stood by the former president as he believed that he was innocent until proven guilty, adding that in African communities, one did not forsake a fellow brother during difficult times.
“You support a person, you don’t dump a person, that is what we Africans do. That is what we are emphasising by repeatedly coming to Pietermaritzburg and attending state capture commission appearances,” he said.
Another person who was spotted outside the court was Landile Vika, a leader of the ANC in East London and former councillor in the Buffalo City Metro.
Vika said the case against Zuma was politically motivated. He said that had it not been for Covid-19 regulations, they would have come with a larger delegation.
“We have been standing with Msholozi (Zuma) since 2005 and we know that this case is politically motivated. As the chief has said, we are here to support Msholozi because we feel that his constitutional rights are being violated,” Vika said.
While the court was virtually hearing the application with Zuma’s lawyers, heavily armed police and soldiers formed a ring of steel outside the court, restricting people’s access.
The park across the court where Zuma supporters normally camp when there is a hearing was cordoned off with barbed wire and no one was allowed to use it.
Some Zuma supporters in ANC T-shirts tried to come close to the court but the uncompromising police blocked them. Other than a handful of people, no other supporters were seen outside the court.