Recent reports that President Jacob Zuma has fathered his twentieth child with a woman he is not married to have disturbing implications for the battle against HIV/Aids.
The three basic tenets of HIV prevention, used to great effect in Uganda in the 1990s, is “Abstain”, “Be faithful” and “Use condoms”.
By impregnating a woman he wasn’t married to, it’s clear that President Zuma ignored the ABC of safe sex. In failing to use a condom, he put his wives and other sexual partners at risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
As president, Zuma is meant to lead South Africa and set an example. Yet what kind of example is the one he has set in private life?
His actions effectively communicate that it’s fine to sleep around — and without even bothering to use protection. As Business Day pointed out on Thursday, “If he finds it impossible to follow the safe-sex guidelines that the government he leads has been trying to sell to the country’s youth, why should they?”
In a statement released on February 3, Zuma said: “It is mischievous to argue that I have changed or undermined government’s stance on the HIV and Aids campaign. I will not compromise on the campaign. Rather we will intensify our efforts to promote prevention, treatment, research and the fight against the stigma, attached to the epidemic.”
These comments are hugely worrying because they show that the president cannot grasp the impact of his behaviour and the kind of example it sets. The HIV pandemic is one of South Africa’s greatest tragedies and a mammoth challenge that, as a nation, we have to solve. We cannot conquer it without leadership. We cannot fight it without safe sex. If South Africans follow Zuma’s cavalier approach to sex, then our horrifying HIV infection rates will continue and the disease will continue to ravage this country.
The spread of HIV — and its resulting impact on the people who have contracted the virus — has been devastating South Africa for over a decade. I am therefore quite bewildered as to why Zuma would still appear to hold contempt for safe sex. Does a condom ruin his sexual experience? Is it not culturally appropriate or not manly to wear one? Or does the president get a thrill out of playing a game of sexual Russian roulette?
Whatever the reasons, President Zuma’s behaviour is simply inexcusable. The man did not have to become president, but, as the holder of that office, it is time he accept the responsibility that comes with it.
In his statement on the third, he said: “I said during World Aids Day that we must all take personal responsibility for our actions. I have done so. I have done the necessary cultural imperatives in a situation of this nature, for example the formal acknowledgement of paternity and responsibility, including the payment of inhlawulo to the family.”
But the president has not, in fact, taken responsibility for what he has done. He has not, because he has failed to acknowledge that he erred in failing to be faithful and in failing to conduct safe sex.
As a leader, Zuma owes it to South Africa to publicly admit that he has made a mistake and that his behaviour was dangerous and wrong. He must also ensure that in future his sexual behaviour does not contradict the painstaking efforts being made to encourage young South Africans to be loyal to their sexual partners and use protection during sex.
And if President Zuma is unable to do that, he should resign and retreat from public life. That way his sexual life is less likely to endanger the millions who look to their president to set an example.
We all respect traditions, but when you commit such attrocities as a National Leader who our Children lookup to as a Role model brings some dark cloud over South Africa’s Moral standards. How can you father 20 Children? Guys, this is crazy. They use our Tax money to raise those Kids meanwhile we are struggling every day in our lives. Is this fair? IS Jacob Zuma a King of the Zulus? No he is not, so why is he painting this picture that Zulus can sleep with as many women as they like? All Zulus must stand up and condem this. Our President must apologise to the Nation and to his Wives for cheating on them. This man is cheating on his wives and cannot be trusted with National decisions of South Africa. I don’t see Jacob Zuma serving a second term with such a record.
On the other hand, the Citizens of South africa must understand that Sex addiction is a disease and requires therapy just like alcohol and drug addictions. He needs to go in REHAB like Woods.
Another infantile rant!
You’re making all kinds of assumptions about uncorroborated allegations. Furthermore, how sure are you that the woman was infected with HIV/AIDS? Did you see her medical records?
The level of discourse in the media, exemplified by this and numerous other blogs in our media proves that it has simply degenerated to playing the racist DA’s game of divisive politics.
Alex i congradulate you on your article, you have represented the thoughts of most of south african youth in regard to the behavier of our president.
Seriously, can people just leave Jacob Zuma alone for a bit? I know it’s easy to publish criticisms of him, but at least he’s taken a serious political/public policy stance in relation to HIV/AIDS. All people have flaws, they make mistakes, and yes he probably should have been more careful. Whoop whoop. You have (a) no evidence that he was irresponsible (they both may have been tested and aware of their status) or (b) no evidence that Zuma’s actions have any meaningful effect on South Africa’s fight against AIDS. Stop blaming Zuma, and blame the man who has the blood of ~10 million South Africans on his hands – Thabo Mbeki. And, imho, *our* president (seems like people forget that?) is spot on about the South African media’s obsession with scandal. It’s pathetic.
Dave Harris and Frustrated.Why do you think it is necessaary to defend Zuma. Should the president of this country not be above reproach in all ways. He is after all THE REPRESENTATIVE of this country. Any wrongdoing on his side reflects similarly on every citizen in South Africa. An immoral president indicates that all of us, uncluding Dave Harris and Frustrated, are equally immoral. Afterall he was elected as the “best” among us. So if he is rotten where do the rest stand.
With public figures, like the President, the public will in general only draw conclusions about the figure concerned’s behaviour on the information that they, the public, have.
Drawing any other kind of conclusions about the figure’s behaviour is inevitably pure conjecture on the part of the public. That is why it is absolutely imperative for public figures to make everything about their behaviour transparent. This is particularly so in the case of behaviour that could lead to the spread of HIV/AIDS, the infectious pandemic that is destroying the people of our country.
JZ has thus far completely and utterly failed in this regard.
Great Scott, Dave Harris, you are so like the old jingos – ‘My country right or wrong’. In your case it’s so much worse, so much more infantile – ‘My party, my fat leader, right or wrong.’
If you genuinely had the sort of concern for SA that your mealy-mouthed parrotting might suggest to some, you would stow this obsession with a failed party & government and write intelligently about the truth and the real needs of South Africa.
This Zuma has disgraced SA more than even Mbeki did, and nearly as much as the Nats did. The man is stupid, selfish and useless. By defending him so thoughtlessly you contribute to the lies that rule SA and indeed you demonstrate those same failings in yourself.
As the writer of this article said, this man did not have to president. If he can’t handle the responsibility he should get out. And the sooner the better for the South African nation.
Dave Harris,
If Jacob 783 made yet another woman-he-is-not-married-to pregnant (corraborated by the ANC, the mother and Zuma himself) then it’s a fairly safe assumption he was not using a condom. (The story that babies are left in cabbage patches is a fable spread by the racist DA for ignorant people like you to believe).
According to Harvard University, the ANC is probably responsible for 300,000 deaths (mostly black) due to its AIDS policies.
President Zuma is simply behaving like a silly little child. He was apparently warned against bringing his organisation into disrepute with his less than flattering personal life; he then goes and do the this? He simply crossed the line this time; he must step down.
After following the M&G discussions for a while I have come to the conclusion that Dave Harris is actually the M&G editor trying to stoke interest and controversy in otherwise so-so opinion pieces. My proof is that he comments without fail on every opinion piece that does not show the ruling party in a favourable light. His comments are also getting so similar every time that I am sure they have run out and are now recycling previous ones.
nice article. but words like “resigning”, or “acting responsibly”, or “accepting responsibility” are just not part of ANC/JZ vocabulary. we might as well wait for the cows to come home.
Why that we want Zuma to resign because he has another love, still he has not done something evil and still we have not yet heard that his wife’s are divorcing him because of this. This brings us to ideology of prejudice because Zuma does something that is taboo in our modern culture then he should not lead us neither he should not be part of our community, like banish him to isolation. Still non can prove that he has done something evil that does deserve banishment. He is in love with many woman which in contrary he has more love than us, tolerant to many woman and responsible enough by marring his wife’s. Why that we can do nothing about be racism, hatred and greediness only to shout flows when someone love many. Are we not suppose to rebuke evil acts and encourage goodness, love, care and sharing through charity etc. ? Just a thought he is probably a saint than us.
Now that the president has mumbled a half-apology, without mentioning that he infected the HIV AIDS campaign with his uncondomised behavior, the ANC must just shut up and listen to the people as to whether this is sufficient enough to keep him as president.
No doubt they will proclaim that all is now forgiven and make as if Zuma is a greater leader than ever before. Nothing but a coordinated PR campaign. It will not work this time and the ANC is going down fadter than a ton of bricks.
Are Dave Harris and Frust rated serious?
Please can we have serious submissions here! People should comment until behaviour is changed – there is nothing like the issue has “degenerated” into whatever! JZ messed up and maybe did so and now people are sick of these mess-ups that have a strong social impact esp from leadership. Taking showers to minimise HIV effect my foot!
Lets talk about this (and any other similar mess-ups for that matter) until behaviour has changed whether its JZ or anybody for that matter.
You’re all so predictable.
You’re like the American public after Clinton’s sexual shenanigans were exposed. It’s pathetic. And it took them George W. Bush to realize that they were being pathetic.
(a) Zuma’s behaviour may be embarrassing (for some, not for all, and I wish the M&G would stop quoting nameless Sowetans as “the public” – typical shoddy journalism), but that doesn’t make him a bad president. A bad president is someone who fails to address pressing social, economic and political crises. Someone who leads South Africa backwards. If you still hate Jacob Zuma after Thabo Mbeki’s presidency, then there’s no saving you. Mbeki has the blood of millions of South Africans on his hands (*he*, not the ANC, killed them – read your history), he failed to redress educational inequality, he failed to properly manage South Africa’s power and water supplies. At least Jacob Zuma has made some good appointments (Public Enterprises, Health, Education (well, so-so), Treasury, to name a few).
(b) What do you think *this* kind of criticism achieves? I’m all for critical discourse, I’m all for people questioning our HIV/AIDS *policies*, I’m all for people reprimanding Angie for not being hard-line enough on getting rid of OBE, but please stop whining and whinging about irrelevancies. Have some pride in your country for God’s sake.
‘Surprised’ seems to be conveniently ignoring the fact that Mr. Zuma and the rest of the ANC’s attitude toward the entire AIDS issue has, in fact, changed–just a while ago prominent leaders were still denying that HIV even led to AIDS.
I am not condoning the president’s behaviour, but he did apologise, and it’s high time people stopped ranting about the mistakes and focus on the immense strides, policy-wise, that the change in leadership has helped make.
I really think his mistake pales in comparison to the fact that under his leadership the government is FINALLY acknowledging this pandemic and taking steps–like the provision of ARVs–to help combat it.
to play the devils advocate here. I have personally never for one minuet considers the presidents actions as a guide line for my own. I have have a brain and intend most often to make my own decisions, as should we all. Were i to do as the president had done and contract some deases, I should consider it my own fault. and not that of the president. Perhaps it is not so much what the president does or does not say as that we fail to grasp the problem for ourselves and so heap blame where ever else we may place it. To be honest I have not in the last 2 or 3 years heard or seen even one safe sex advertisement, encouragement, or anything else in that line.
Please give me one instance of Zuma telling the truth about anything at all? 500,000 jobs in the election year were promised. When asked how he was going to do that he stated “we have a plan”. A year later – “sorry but”.
HIV Aids and his statements re his rape trial and a year later “Sorry”. What of his stock song of his machine gun and the adoration he gets from singing about what a machine gun stands for? How many will die because of this stupid behaviour? How many farmers were killed and still are killed because of the stupid song sung by Peter Mukaba?
“I want my day in court”? Now its a “political settlement”? Since when is justice a political issue? What made the South African public so adamant to have a president who did not have any good credentials other than the ability to tell people what they wanted to hear? Yet some are prepared will ‘die for Zuma’.
Politicians should be held accountable for the damage they cause by what they say and what they do.
Zuma was part of the denialist ANC that stopped the spread of anti retrovirials and never mind the 350,000 that died because of this, how many child led house holds do we now have and and and. The ANC and Zuma should resign from government as they are not fit to run a circus never mind a country.
For all of you who keep saying that they may have been tested blag blah blah what if she had an STI & not AIDS or one of his other shags? He would have been blindly passing it along. Lets assume that they have all been tested including the mistress (highly unlikely) what about yeast infections that women sometimes can’t avoid. Let’s put a woman in his place and see what all the zulu men defending Zuma would think of that?
One can see the wisdom that is applied from this extract from the Scripture….
Titus 3:10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time.
After that, have nothing to do with him.
You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
How many times has he said I am sorrrrrry?
Why don’t you publish the opinion of an established South African HIV and Aids organisation CEO or get the CEO of the Global Fund to voice an opinion?
I suggest that Zuma can still play a very positive role in the fight against HIV. He could be used as a famous example of what NOT to do. It could be called the “Be smarter than Zuma” campaign and feature him as the man that says one thing and does another. Hopefully the campaign will not only save lives but remove the offending copulator from an office he seems to use by the hour. Can we seriously not do better?
Dave Harris said :”how sure are you that the woman was infected with HIV/AIDS?”
The real question is, before he had sex with her how did he know she was NOT HIV positive?
Perhaps the point of safe sex practice is to ask precisely this question, assume that every partner is positive (because it comes down to a 50/50 chance), and use a condom.
It is clear that your comment is direct evidence of the failure of safe sex education in this country. People who don’t understand the risk, don’t ask the question, and get infected.
If Zuma is not asking such basic questions about where he puts his showerhead, what other important questions are neglected in his consideration?