Blood reigns the world

Today (29.11.2024) UK Labour Transport Secretary Louise Haigh resigned as the first minister of the Sir Keir Starmer cabinet. SkyNews broke the story this week that in 2014 Louise Haigh had reported a burglary in her home and that her mobile phone got stolen along with other items. Later she had found the mobile phone but had forgotten to report her findings to the authorities. Later in court, she was sentenced for this offense. In hours of SkyNews breaking the news, Louise Haigh decided to resign from her ministerial role.

In 2022 President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa reported a burglary on his farm to the police. The police were able to find and capture the perpetrators. While being interrogated the criminals revealed having stolen $ 4 Mio. in cash from the farmhouse $ 500k hidden in the living room sofa. The president argued that the cash was from the sale of buffalos. Investigations by the police established the "sold buffalos" were still on the farm.

In the parliament of Pretoria, the opposition wanted to impeach the president. The ANC majority rejected the claims of foul play. Cyril Ramaphosa is still in office.

Comparing these two cases the question arises about the motives behind the respective decisions. Is it a race aspect, a money-greedy aspect, a lack of understanding of the moral principles of democracy, failure of young and old democracy, a professional career after ending the political career, relevance in and of society, their expectations, or the fact that blood reigns?