President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday drove home the inviolability of South Africa's constitutional order and rule of law -- defending his public enterprise minister, but also knocking back politicking over State Capture arrests. But that his reply in the presidency Budget vote debate may not be enough was signalled by events outside the House.

Known not to let slip a good hook for his messaging, President Cyril Ramaphosa made much of Thursday's international Nelson Mandela Day to emphasise co-operation in the interests of rebuilding South Africa.

"... (I)t is only through unity and what Madiba stood for -- collaboration -- that we will succeed in overcoming our challenges. It is only through unity of purpose and unity in action that we will overcome troubles that today seem intractable."

And that unity -- it did not mean conformity or uniformity, Ramaphosa was quick to add -- meant everyone needed to get behind the fight against corruption and State Capture. But arrests and prosecutions "cannot, should not and must not be the responsibility of the presidency"; it's the job of law enforcement and prosecuting institutions, which must be given the time and space to do so.

Significant advances to end capture of...