Last week, our ears were clogged by the noise that followed Jacob Zuma's last-kick reshuffle of his already discredited cabinet.

We have reached a point in the haunted life of our captured state where most South Africans wish Zuma would simply sit and do nothing in Nkandla, until he is ejected from the Union Buildings.

The fact that he is left with a few days in the ANC's presidency must not dupe South Africans into believing our rogue president is down and out. The Bible says that in the last days, Satan will multiply his ferocity.

Knowing that there will be a new president of the ANC before Christmas, Zuma is all the more dangerous. He spends every minute of his last days plotting two things: how to loot as much money as possible; and how to replace himself with a stooge.

These are the two main factors that explain why he reshuffled cabinet last week. It has already been suggested in the public domain that the reshuffle is an attempt to conclude a nuclear deal with Russia.

This is the moneymaking component of Zuma's grand politico-kleptocratic scheme.

There have been lingering allegations that the ANC financed its campaign for the 2014 national elections with bribe money from Vladimir Putin, advanced on the promise that Russia would be given a deal to build nuclear power stations in SA for more than R1-trillion.

Furthermore, it has been alleged that, as he did in the arms deal, Zuma went behind the ANC's collective bribery scheme with the Russian president to secure a cut for himself. Given everything we now know about Zuma, this is in the realm of possibility.

The fact that the ANC has allowed Zuma to wreak so much havoc in our country suggests that maybe he knows something about the complicity of the entire leadership of the ANC in grand corruption.

We know how Zuma operates: he appoints into positions of authority people with smallernyana skeletons as a way of keeping them silent while he loots.

To this day, Cyril Ramaphosa has not explained to us why he apologised for supporting Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas after they were axed by Zuma. Could it be that Zuma reminded the entire NEC, including Ramaphosa, that all of them are guilty of accepting Putin's bribe?

Even as we all can smell nuclear and gas in the appointment of David Mahlobo as Zuma's new energy minister, ANC leaders like Gwede Mantashe and Zweli Mkhize continue to speak in tongues, calling the reshuffle a "pity" and "shock". Ramaphosa himself has said absolutely nothing!

Could it be that we are witnessing a scenario of a gang leader who takes the lion's share after robbing a bank, telling all members of his gang to shut up or risk going to jail with him? Why are Ramaphosa and other so-called "clean" members of the NEC quiet?

It remains clear that, like Satan, Zuma will use his last days to multiply ferocity, and to fill more of his moneybags.

In this kind of sordid work, there will always be a David willing to assist. What seems to be hidden from our knowledge is when a messiah will be born to save South Africa.

The second component of Zuma's grand politico-kleptocratic scheme seeks to install his stooge as a successor. The axing of Blade Nzimande from the higher education portfolio is a tactic in this transparent strategy.

Zuma reckoned that Nzimande would get angry and tell his SACP to abandon the tripartite alliance forthwith, thereby scattering the forces mobilising for Ramaphosa.

The SACP will not leave the alliance for two reasons: the party does not have money to pay salaries of its leaders who are ministers in Zuma's cabinet; and the SACP hopes to strike a deal with Ramaphosa, should he win in December.

In William Shakespeare's King Lear, a fool speaks to a king thus: "Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise."

The king breaks down and sobs: "O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven!"

Imagine the cracking voice of Jacob Zuma bellowing from a lonely prison cell one day: "O, let me not be mad, not mad, dear South Africans!"