No Shaik redux. This time Zuma stands by Guptas. He’ll fall with them too.
When you're in a hole, it's best to stop digging. SA President Jacob Zuma did so when his relationship with Schabir Shaik started hurting. Yet, despite clear evidence the immigrant Gupta family has played him like a cheap fiddle. Zuma's "friendship" isn't wavering. Even now, when it is obvious to all but himself the game is over. Zuma's best option would be to plead ignorance; instead he refuses to distance himself from the personification of South Africa's crony capitalist cancer. That tells us everything about how deeply the relationship has become embedded. ANC members claiming to be victims of Gupta abuse are flooding into ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe's office in Luthuli House. With each new revelation, the pressure grows. The smart move for Zuma would be to negotiate a deal and head home to Nkandla. Instead, the clumsy Zupta response will add to the eventual pain. Their efforts to influence opinion through social media has morphed into often ridiculous posts by inexperienced "Guptrolls" who hurt rather than aid their cause. Ditto the statement by alleged illegal cigarette kingpin Edward Zuma that continued disclosures by respected columnist Max du Preez reflect the rantings of a "bitter old white man". The truth hurts those on its wrong side. Its power is systematically destroying once impregnable Fortress Zupta. Hope Springs. – Alec Hogg
By Mpho Raborife, News24