'RESPECT THE LAW AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSTITUTION'
The front page editorial in the Sunday Times of 22 March 2009, which appeared under the heading 'Killing the dream to save one man', cannot be left unchallenged.
As for the content, we agree that any person being charged in the criminal justice system is innocent until proven guilty.
For the rest of the article, that constitutional and legal principle is cast aside and the point of departure seems to be that ANC President Jacob Zuma is guilty until he proves himself innocent.
Let me refer to a number of principles that should, in my view, guide this discussion. We live in a constitutional state where disputes, such as the one that we are referring to, are placed before the court for a decision. Both parties, being the state and Zuma, are supposed to appear before such a court with equal rights.
Let us, for a moment, look at the history of this moment, and which "rights" have been exercised by the State: