The uncertainty over the fate of Jacob Zuma before his surrender to the police less than an hour before the expiry of the order for his arrest, following his sentencing by the Constitutional Court, has cast doubt over the legitimacy of SA as a constitutional democracy.

The pertinent question in this regard is whether constitutional democracy in our beloved Republic was a “fanciful ideal or a tangible reality”, as framed by the HSRC.  The fact that the apex court pronounced on the guilt of Zuma and sentenced him to 15 months in prison should have meant that the convicted contemnor should have been in orange overalls without fuss...