Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya

Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya

Cosatu's decision to reveal all only if Jacob Zuma is charged smacks of abetting a criminal enterprise. Zwelinzima Vavi earlier this month hinted that his organisation knows more about the arms deal than it was letting on.

"This hearing could lead to exposing the truth behind the arms deal, which could implicate a number of other personalities," he said.

By choosing this route Cosatu has chosen to make the interests of the country contingent on the fate of one person. Ours is a young democracy and it is now that we need to send a message that we will not tolerate crime, even if it is by those who believe their political CVs entitle them to a different set of values.

Cosatu has a proud history of fighting on the side of what is right. Their intervention in the Zimbabwe and Swaziland situations, their lone voice calling for a better state response to HIV and Aids and the fact that the poor have a better banking regime than previously the case, bears testimony to their heroic efforts.