Former president Jacob Zuma’s advocate argued on Monday that South Africans have been too “blinded by hatred” for him to understand just how deeply his rights have been compromised by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane repeatedly suggested that the belief that Zuma was “scum” had prevented many people from acknowledging the “egregious” way he had been treated — which Zuma himself maintains was the worst violation of rights experienced in democratic SA.
He said Zuma had been deeply “dehumanised” and stigmatised by the way the NPA had pursued its case against him, which had left him “synonymous with corruption”.
Zuma’s tenure as president was dogged by allegations of corruption and being party to state capture with his friends the Gupta family. He was also found by the Constitutional Court to have failed to uphold the constitution with regard to public protector findings on his Nkandla homestead. 
Judge Thoba Poyo-Dlwati asked Sikhakhane when Zuma’s name would ever be free of the stigma against him, “because he has said he wants his day in court”.

Sikhakhane responded that “your order condemning the unconstitutional conduct towards him will go some way towards curing the stigma”.
“While Zuma will have scars, the respect of the constitution would be upheld,” he said.
Sikhakhane had earlier argued that “violations of the constitution, even in pursuit of the ugliest criminal we hate, cannot be condoned”.
The advocate was responding to questions from Judge Bhekisisa Mnguni, who pointed out that, though former NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe chose to withdraw charges against Zuma because of political meddling at the time he was charged, there was no proof that the evidence against Zuma had been interfered with...