Precedent for premature exit by presidents for greater good

There is nothing new under the sun. History has a tendency of repeating itself but what has happened in the past will never happen again in exactly the same way. The past helps us understand the tribulations of today.

Our teacher used to say, “Politics is a dirty dangerous game that knows no morality”. Or as Winston Churchill put it, “In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times”.

The metaphor was recently given credence by the declaration that certain members of parliament would not be allowed to support a motion of no-confidence in the president and shoot the party and its leader in the back.

We are as yet to see what will happen if the Constitutional Court orders the speaker of parliament to allow secret ballot on the motion.

There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies in politics. Self-preservation and mutual interests define alliances.

Allies may be ready to kill for those they adore today but turn around and be ready to kill them tomorrow.

History has countless examples.

In 1828 King Tshaka, the extramarital son of King Senzangakhona and his mistress Nandi, was assassinated by his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlanga.

Later Dingane and his generals assassinated Mhlanga under the pretext that he was plotting to depose Dingane.

Mpande, the half-brother of Dingane, collaborated with the colonial forces against Dingane.

In the end the African warrior was trapped and killed. Mpande had betrayed Dingane to pacify the Boer forces.

Similarly, Ngqika with the colonial forces on his side, fought against his paternal uncles Ndlambe and Hintsa.

But years later, the Ngqika warriors ambushed the unsuspecting British settlers in the Eastern Cape.

This spread the war in which the so-called Fingos and the British fought against the Ngqikas and the Ndlambes.

During the Second World War communists and capitalists collaborated against Adolf Hitler and his lunatic generals who had caused untold suffering and loss of life in Europe.

The Cold War divided the world into two ideological camps. Ironically, communist China collaborated with America to undermine Russia and for many years there was tension between Russia and China. National wars and liberation struggles were fought with either America, Russia or China supporting one of the parties to the conflict.

However, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s forced nations in the world to co-operate on social and economic issues confronting the world.

Communism could no longer be used to justify human rights abuses such as apartheid.

Nationalists, communists and liberals collaborated in fighting and undermining apartheid.

In The Last Trek President FW de Klerk recalls that in 1992 anti-apartheid forces indirectly strengthened him by not opposing the “whites-only” referendum. Whites overwhelmingly voted in favour of negotiations for a new constitution.

The August 2016 coalitions show that there is no guarantee for electoral victory and that voter behaviour can never be taken for granted.

Elections do sometimes breed what the Xhosa poet SEK Mqhayi once called ugilikankqo (an unknown creature).

Today we see mass protests calling for the State President to step down.

It is always a moment of sadness and division when a leader is forced to resign before finishing his term. The founding fathers of the constitution anticipated these problems and understandably made it difficult for a president to be removed before finishing his or her term. Although this is not to say this should never happen in appropriate circumstances.

In Long Walk to Freedom Madiba recalls the sadness in 1952 when the ANC was forced to recall its president Dr James Moroka for publicly distancing himself from the Defiance Campaign.

Moroka committed the cardinal crime of elevating personal interests above organisational interests.

The consequences of removing former President Thabo Mbeki in 2009 are a matter of public record.

De Klerk recalls the sadness and divisions when the National Party forced Prime Minister JB Vorster and PW Botha to resign before the end of their terms of office.

Vorster was implicated in the 1979 Information scandal and the Nats rejected his technical arguments in self-exoneration. He was shown the door.

He died an unhappy man. At his memorial service the conservatives implied that he had been stabbed in the back.

Although De Klerk and other Nats wanted to attend the funeral, it was not possible to do so in the prevailing atmosphere.

PW Botha was fired for publicly embarrassing and contradicting the Nats on the constructive engagement direction they were taking.

However, in The Silent Revolution by John Kane-Berman, “Die Groot Krokodil” is credited for having initiated talks with the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. He also authorised state intelligence officials to explore talks with the ANC.

Americans too have a share of experience of presidents exiting prematurely.

In 1974 Richard Nixon resigned and publicly said, “By taking this action, I hope I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.”

This was the first time in the entire history of America that a sitting president resigned before finishing his term.

Vice-President Gerald Ford took over.

In a spirit of healing, Ford announced that he would pardon Nixon for any crimes he may have committed in relation to the Watergate scandal.

Americans were excited about these developments.

Ford committed himself to work for national unity. Nixon called on all Americans to support his successor and put differences aside. He assured the nation that with Ford as president they were in safe hands.

God bless Africa!

Ntsiki Sandi is a Grahamstown-based lawyer and former member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission