Bad judgement

PROTOCOL is a big word, but one dictionary defines it simply as the accepted code of behaviour in a particular situation. And one particular situation is the nomination of Judge Sandile Ngcobo by President Jacob Zuma as his choice to replace outgoing Chief Justice Pius Langa.

This is of course just one way of describing the situation. The other is to call it the non-nomination of Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, which is what the Democratic Alliance (DA) is doing.

The DA has gone so far as to nominate Moseneke. And it is here where I think protocol comes in - there is no doubt in my mind that the DA is using Moseneke's name in vain, pretending to be waging a real struggle that could see him being appointed when they know it won't happen.

Obviously Moseneke can see through this, and given his political underpinnings as a Pan Africanist it must anger him immensely. I mean, there is no bigger kiss of death than having your issue championed by the DA. So, I struggle to understand why he does not speak up and say "not in my name".

And it is here that I suspect protocol might come in: maybe as a judge or even deputy chief justice you don't get involved in such issues publicly. If that is so, I would still argue that Moseneke needs to find a way of telling Helen Zille and her people to cool it and not kill his reputation with false love.

Hogging the headlines

The DA and Zille could not find black people with the right capabilities to run a provincial government in the Western Cape. That they now find Moseneke a useful tool to continue their campaign of creating controversies around senior black appointments is distasteful, to say the least. For the record, I believe Moseneke would have made a good chief justice and should have been appointed.

But Zuma, for whatever myriad reasons, is obviously not convinced of this and has chosen another equally capable man, Ngcobo. The noise going on will not change that position. The DA crowd knows this, and their nomination of Moseneke is nothing short of an opportunistic way of staying attached to a story that has kept them in the headlines for days.

I have made the point elsewhere that Zuma made an excellent choice in Ngcobo who, given his tenure, deserves the highest court office before he bows out in two years' time.

However, by creating this storm around Ngcobo and insisting on Moseneke, the impression is being created that Ngcobo is the wrong man for the job, when this is not the case.

Silence may be misconstrued

Several ANC leaders - who happen to be white - have been appointed to senior positions lately without controversy. Gill Marcus at the Reserve Bank is one; Mary Metcalfe at education is another. That Metcalfe was an MEC twice in Gauteng has not led to the usual DA accusation that political friends were being appointed.

But Bheki Cele becomes national commissioner of police and you wish you could close your ears. Cele, like Metcalfe and Marcus, is a member of the ANC. When he speaks out he is abrasive, but Marcus is an independent thinker who speaks her mind.

Moseneke is therefore nothing more than a strategic angle to continue creating noise around black appointments. That is why I feel he cannot stay mum in the face of this abuse of his name - in that silence some may misconstrue him to be in agreement with the DA, which I know can never be.

Moseneke is a dedicated African, wanting nothing more than to advance the course of Africans first and humanity in general second. He needs to find a way of saying to all and sundry that he accepts the nomination, and will work with Ngcobo to ensure that justice is dispensed equitably.

He needs to say it was always about this and not about position. When he does that, he will help silence the DA doomsayers and save us all from the shenanigans.

- Fin24.com