Unvaccinated Jacob Zuma compares lockdown to apartheid

Former president Jacob Zuma on Sunday dismissed questions about his supporters gathered outside his home in KwaZulu-Natal without observing Covid-19 regulations.

Zuma‚ who has not received a Covid-19 vaccination‚ addressed media personnel at his KwaDakwadunuse home in Nkandla on Sunday night and said he was not responsible for what his supporters did even if their actions were against lockdown regulations.

The former president said he believed people were angered by the recent Constitutional Court judgment ordering him to be jailed for 15 months‚ and there was nothing he could do about it “as a person who is very much aggrieved”.

“I was not responsible for what has happened‚” said Zuma.

In his speech‚ Zuma compared lockdown level 4 regulations to apartheid.

According to Zuma‚ lockdown regulations were no different to the rules imposed on people during the mid-1980s state of emergency enforced by the apartheid regime.

“We have a level 4 lockdown with all the hallmarks of a state of emergency and the curfews of the 1980s‚” said Zuma.

“The only difference is that we use different levels‚ like contempt of court instead of detention without trial‚ but the substance is exactly the same. Being jailed without trial is no different from detention without trial.”

Zuma had to be saved by his spin doctor, Mzwanele Manyi, when confronted with persistent questions about the breaching of Covid-19 regulations.

Manyi said: “The president is not going to answer that question. It is important to do a bit of research about an issue with a mask when you have a medical condition. The fact that the president is not wearing a mask might very well be a medical condition, which is a confidential thing he cannot disclose.”

Zuma revealed he had not been vaccinated against Covid-19 despite his age group qualifying for jabs.

In what could be viewed as his first sign of disregarding lockdown regulations‚ the former president went out with Amabutho (Zulu regiments) on Saturday to greet supporters while not wearing a mask.