My nephew, the youngest in of five siblings, was found among the wreckage of a cookie jar on the kitchen floor. Having unsuccessfully tried to blame his brothers and sisters, who were all away, he stated: “It must have been the Green Man!”

Ex-President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, having fought his way from imprisonment as a terrorist to the Presidency, found himself at the receiving end of several court procedures for corruption. His financial advisor had been found guilty of corruption with then Vice-President Zuma, and was released on medical parole back in 2009, as his death was imminent.

Miracles happen and Mr Shaik is a well-known golfer these days, while the later President Zuma insisted that he wants his day in court to clear his name.

The opportunity offered in 2018 when the then Public Protector, Thuli Mdonsela, recommended that a judicial Commission of Enquiry be set up to investigate the capture of the South African state by criminal collaborators of the President and his cronies. Now Mr Zuma, having reached the end of his Stalingrad policy of avoiding his day in court, has refused to testify before this commission which he himself has set up, on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and prejudiced against him.

A prominent newspaper published, then withdrew a cartoon of Mr Zuma urinating on the constitution to the applause of some of his party members. Secretary-General of the ruling party, Ace Magashule, himself facing multiple chances of corruption, opined that the constitution is, in fact, not sacrosanct.

While the USA is coming to grips with its own version of the Zuma maneuver, allow me to contemplate the nature of the propaganda lie.

When Herr Hitler, ready to protect the interests of his people, felt the need for invading Poland for reasons that made sense to him, he manufactured an attack on the German Gleiwitz radio station to justify in his actions. This triggered the Second World War, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Mr Zuma has portrayed himself as the victim, despite a litany of allegations of misappropriation of taxpayer’s money being heard by the Commission he has set up and which he now accuses of being biased.

When a liar or conman is caught out, the first reaction is to accuse someone else of doing what the accused is guilty of. Attack on the Capitol? It must have been the other side.

Or maybe the Green Man? Well, we had the green laser beam setting fire to California. Maybe the flying saucer that fired it had little green men flipping votes? We wait for President Zuma's arrest for refusing to testify, to hear about the Green Man.