SaveSA says bid to suppress book on Zuma smacks of apartheid-style censorship

The Save South Africa campaign has added its voice to protests against the State Security Agency (SSA) and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) bid “to suppress details of President Jacob Zuma’s financial affairs”‚ in Jacques Pauw’s book‚ The Presidents’ Keepers – Those keeping Zuma in power and out of prison.

“Once our government starts ‘banning’ books and acting against authors‚ we are on a slippery‚ apartheid-style slope to full-blown censorship‚ the suppression of freedom of expression and the violation of our Constitution‚” the organisation said in a statement on Friday.

SaveSA said the security police could turn to the courts regarding the alleged errors in Pauw’s book‚ while SARS should be investigating the details of Zuma’s tax evasion contained in the book.

Given the Shabir Shaik trial‚ South Africans have a right to know who Zuma is financially beholden to and how he manages his financial affairs‚ the organisation said.

SaveSA warned that SSA and SARS’ actions over Pauw’s book “could be just the beginning of a concerted attack – a crackdown‚ even -- on Zuma’s ever-growing list of critics”.