Had this been any other country (with the possible exception of Italy), there would have been an uproar over the latest instalment in the increasingly scandalous public life of Jacob Zuma. It astonishes me that there has not been spontaneous calls for the president to step down within government and that his comrades have actually come to his defence.
The trials and tribulations of influential people like Tiger Woods, Joost van der Westhuizen and Bill Clinton have led to sponsors withdrawing support, being fired from television programmes and impeachment attempts. I guess this is too much to ask when it comes to the evidently untouchable highest office in South Africa in which the day-to-day affairs resemble the plot of a cheap soapie.
Media favourite, Comrade JuJu, claimed it is disrespectful to discuss the sex life of elders, and in particular, that of the first citizen. A startling admission from the man that has repeatedly disrespected elders in opposition parties, ranging from the Congress of the People to the Inkatha Freedom Party. It further smacks of hypocrisy following his highly publicised utterances about Helen Zille’s sex life with her harem of male concubines, as he claimed.
Worst yet, however, is the Communication Workers’ Union defiantly declaring that “the media’s obsession and interference at President Zuma’s private life aims at re-engineering society to conform to the capitalist sex ‘norm’ of one man and one woman for life, thus denying the complexity of human sexuality”. Gone are the days when the purpose of a union was to defend the rights and interests of its members, not the sexcapades of the president. It is clear that “complexity of human sexuality” does not include recognition of diversity in sexual orientation, because I don’t remember the union taking the president to task over his homophobic remarks and support for another homophobe, Jon Qwelane, the soon-to-be high commissioner to Uganda.
It is also incredibly foolish to equate capitalism with monogamy, when the rise of polyamory, divorce and extra-marital affairs in post-industrial, post-modern and post-Christian societies testify to the lack of a causal relationship.
Hypocrisy and double standards have also evidently become the norm in ANC circles and the presidency, when the man who is in no position to call anyone else “mischievous” readily labels the media as such, and makes recourse to constitutional rights and liberties when it suits him, and disregard them with equal ease.
I also guess it is too much to ask from the traditional leaders in KwaZulu-Natal firmly in the net of government patronage to speak out against the president’s behaviour, a man who has the potential to tarnish and do more damage to the understanding and perception of Zulu culture, customs and traditions than anyone else.
This, when fathering a child out of wedlock, according to UKZN lecturer Ndela Nelson Ntshangase, is not acceptable in Zulu culture. Although people need not be experts on Zulu culture if it is believed that inhlawulo, or damages, were paid. To be fair, Ntshangase claimed “that as a married Zulu man, Zuma was permitted to date another woman. He was not obliged to tell his wives about such a relationship”.
Zuma ascension to the presidency has been a fancy way of going on social welfare, having taxpayers foot the bill for his wives and offspring. The revelations that the president is taking a two-day break from romp and circumstance following his visits abroad also speak volumes about his commitment to and determination to deliver on the election mantra of “working together we can do more”. The together clearly did not include Mr President.
Work ethic, ethical and moral behaviour seem to elude the embattled man, the rumoured victim of an on-going conspiracy to undermine his character and standing. Methinks umshini wethu weSex is doing a fine job at it himself, without the aid of a “third force”.
* Thanks to Mputhumi Ntabeni for the grammatically correct title.
We will show these Brrrrritish imperialists.
Awethu from here. Perth brudda
The president was not given time to tell the nation not to worry because he took the shower after carelessly indulging. I think people are giving him an impulse to fool around by describing promiscuity as polygamy. Paying the damages doesnt change the fact that he is not leading us by example. What kind of image is he potraying to the young south africans or a future of this country rather. these young kinds of our nation are bound to make the same mistake because we all kept quite about this matter. It doesnt take an expert to know that this president of hours is not learning from his mistakes. Using africanism and culture is something i personally find disgusting. i am an african too and there is no culture that promotes such. when leaders make mistakes they do not affirm the nation that they have learned from it and vow that it will never happen again. instead they claim to be taken out of context or make careless statements about culture. Why is the ANC backing him up? he owes us an apology if not a public thing with debra patta. i am amazed by julius when he says he is not qualified to talk about elders relationship. was he qualified to insult hellen zille and mbeki? shall we then translate the word elder to only african people. where are we taking this country by backing up sinners and call them one of our own. zumas lust for must end
jz is our berlusconi… minus the cruise ship crooning (altho we have mshini en masse) and minus the media empire (altho we have JZ&Co Inc) and minus the narcissistic gold-digging wives… (hey wait a minute…)
inhlawulo aka paying DAMAGES is part of ZULU culture, so by default impregnanting a woman and then paying Inhlawulo is also part of Zulu culture.
in christian jargon…it’s not like deliberately-sinning and then asking for forgiveness, its like discovering you have sinned and then asking for forgiveness.
I do not believe this what kind of a nation are we becoming to openly critisize another person like that in south sotho you do not do that since you cannot bring down a man’s apparel for all to see.I take it this is what the media is doing to Mr President and its not good and totally unhuman.If we treat people based on their deeds all of us might as well stop what we are doing because not any of us is as pure as to be doing anything we are doing so shame upon those of the idea of Msholozi stepping down.
i could not have said it better. well done Marius, this is without a doubt straight forward talk about how gatvol we are of this man’s ridiculous claiming of “zulu culture”
sounds more like “can’t keep my zip up culture” to me
i don’t think your brain has re-charged well, please go back to sleep tsepang, and wake up later, maybe your cells would be back in order.
it’s incredible how much is written about JZ’s morality (or lack thereof) while his presidency is ignored. Maybe it is because there is not much coming out of his presidency?
Dave Harris, do you want me to agree with you that fathering children out of wedlock with your friends daughters is “African morality”? A racist would agree with you, I’m afraid I can’t. Please don’t denigrate African culture, values and morality with your pathetic attempts to protect JZ. Rtaher say that you support him (and your beloved ANC) due to blind faith, right or wrong.
The “Zuma ascension to the presidency has been a fancy way of going on social welfare, having taxpayers foot the bill for his wives and offspring.”
Precisely.
And thus to claim that this is a “private affair” is RIDICULOUS.
We have only our leaders to lead us on the path of rightiousness. Those who aspire to live a safe and moral lifestyle do not need so-called leaders to influence those who are easily led astray.
Such persons will be rejected as leaders. A loss of respect will translate into a volte face loss of votes for the ANC at the polls. Simple as that. You cannot wish away this fact of life. Zuma is a personal failure and he is a national failure. He will be the ANC’s greatest failure and its single most greatest mistake in the history of the party.
@ Dave Harris
trying to see evil in a young journalist who was a toddler before ’94?
Blaming Zuma’s disgusting behaviour on Apartheid?
You’re just another pathetic ANC voter, oblivious to your leader’s faults..
Dave Harris
The only third force was the ANC’s Operation Vula which escalated after the elections so Winnie’s thugs could necklace any opposition to the ANC (PAC and IFP).
The ANC was trained in Vietnam that to kill your own and blame it on the other side (IFP) was acceptable in a “people’s War).
They were also trained to blame the violence of their own Third Force (Operation Vula) on a Third Force of the opposition (De Klerk).
The Boipatong massacre was likely to have been such an ANC Third Force False Flag action.
You don’t have to believe me. All the details are in the book “People’s War: New light on the struggle for South Africa” by Anthea Jeffery
Sorry Lyndall Beddy,
The truth does not fit in with the popular version.
Using the “logic” of people like Dave Harris and Tsepang; black people can do anything they like because of apartheid. In fact the only punishable offence in this country is to belong to the DA.
I feel sorry for the majority of South Africans. Every pothole, every corruption scandal, every incompetent deployed SEO cadre, every time the power goes out and every Zuma scandal must damage that most precious thing that any person possesses: the self esteem of black South Africans.
Not even blaming apartheid will fix that.
What I find even more disturbing is the apathy of the non-ANC supporters.
Marius Redelinghuys you quite rightly states: “Had this been any other country (with the possible exception of Italy), there would have been an uproar over the latest instalment in the increasingly scandalous public life of Jacob Zuma”
Doing an informal public sensus over the last week on exactly that question, I have had some horrendous answers as to why. The roughly fall in 3 camps, apart from the obvious ANC supporters:
1. “Talking politics is not really allowed in public, wait until you get home and then you can talk about it to your friends.” – Say What! This is a democracy isn’t it?
2. “I’m not really interested in politics, I prefer reading about film stars.” – Ya, right, they do not affect your daily misery, but take you out of it and is it any wonder this country is in such a mess.
3. “Leave politics to the politicians and other leaders” – (read: clever people) That has worked for the last 15 years hasn’t it?
Most South Africans deserve Zuma. We are too spineless and clueless in the majority to even ask for better, nevermind demand. Democracy? Yeth mathter, inthantly mathter.
Panchette
What truth? You know anyone who knew if the Boipatong Zulus were IFP Zulus or Operation Vula Zulus. Obviously the whites helping them thought they were IFP (and democrats not communists) but they would have thought any Zulu was IFP.
The CIA used this tactic; the KBG(who trained Mbeki and Zuma) used this tactic; and Hitler used this tactic (he got into power with it – in fact he started the idea)
But most telling of all – Buthelezi asked for the black on black violence to be part of the TRC and Mandela refused.