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Photo by Gallo Images / Dino Lloyd

Errol Present could be the ANC’s sacrificial goat under the flagship of “Thuma Mina”

A closer look at the ANC’s handling of the case of Errol Present will reveal a lot about how they plan on sacrificing this lamb.

Anc salaries

Photo by Gallo Images / Dino Lloyd

Politics is a vicious game that is played by institutional gambits who bet against ordinary people’s lives every day. Trust is a factor in this game and its value is built on the premise of ‘what can you do for me?’.

However, when lines are crossed and the proverbial sh#@ hits the fan, loyal servants of the code often realise (too late, at times) that their servitude is expandable.

A cold truth: realising you’re not protected by the blankets of power

This is the corner Errol Velile Present finds himself in. A cold and lonely place where he is coming to terms with the epiphany that hit him when the walls came tumbling down on him: the political party he has served for more than a decade has placed him on the chopping block sooner than the justice system could decide his fate.

It was Herman Mashaba’s reaction to the news, that one of the four CIT robbers (the men took down a money truck in Soweto) was identified as an ANC member who works at Luthuli House, that made the headlines on Wednesday.

This revelation was yet another stepping stone – for the opposition – towards unveiling the rot that is supposedly hidden behind the ANC’s liberal rhetoric.

The way they saw it, the majority of South Africans would finally see that this institution is run by corporate thugs. How could an employee’s personal agenda be linked with the image of the ANC, you might ask. It’s simple, throw a pebble against a windscreen and the cracks will grow.

A new direction for the ANC’s apologetic political campaign

However, it could be argued that the ANC has just received the ultimate trump card for its political campaign, that it never asked for. Present, in their view, has unknowingly offered himself as the sacrificial goat.

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), together with SAPS’ intelligence unit may have irrefutable evidence against Present but he must still go through the justice system, and in the eyes of the law, one is deemed innocent until proven guilty.

So, why did the ANC react very quickly in judging Present as guilty before allowing the legal system to take its course?

The era of Ramaphosa and his firm stance on tackling corruption within the party must have a lot to do with how the ANC reacted.

Is the ANC jumping ahead due process in firing Errol Present?

It appears now that, after Bheki Cele came out unveiling more crimes Present may have been involved in, the former Luthuli House staff member will become the staple brand under the flagship of Thuma Mina.

Many South Africans have already applauded the ANC’s ‘swift’ action in firing Present, essentially feeding him to the wolves.

This is the same majority that the governing party will target for the rest of its political campaign, and more likely than not, the ANC that ousted a member before following due process will win their votes.