South African President Jacob Zuma confirmed his relationship with Sonono Khoza and admitted to fathering a child with her. At the same time he marked his displeasure at the manner in which the story was broken in the media .
This follows a number of individuals, parties and groups who have slammed the press by saying he president is entitled to his privacy as set out in the Constitution. Against them equally numerous individuals, parties and groups who have supported freedom of the press and more importantly the public’s right to know.
In this regard people need to be aware that no right is absolute and the president’s right to privacy is tempered by other rights which compete with it. In accordance therewith our courts are tasked with interpreting the law and thereby creating precedents which can be used to demarcate the boundaries of these rights; where some rights end and others begin.
At times this can be a very difficult balancing act with those who demand privacy berating a system that allows too much media intrusion followed a week later by a public outcry when the courts interdict newspapers from publishing a particular story. In truth it’s a pendulum which swings from side to side.
The question in the case of President Zuma therefore has to be to what extent can the media or even the public intrude on his privacy.
As you would expect the law does not operate in a vacuum and as such weighs up all factors concerning a particular person. In the case of a politician who enters what we call public life that right is immediately tempered by the public’s right to know all about the person that they are being asked to vote for.
In the case of a president who represents the entire country and acts as a role model to millions of its citizens that right is drastically reduced even more.
We then have to factor in what prejudice that individual’s conduct is having on other members of the public. In the case of a president once again it is far in excess of what the man in the street can achieve and accordingly his right to privacy limited even further.
Two obvious examples that are applicable in this instance :
In the fight against HIV/Aids, where South Africa is one of the most devastated countries in the world, the act of carrying on unprotected sex is highly irresponsible. More so when you have vowed to the public that your previous conduct was reckless and would not be repeated. How this translates is that the less educated among the masses look to the man that they literally idolise and assume that if he is doing it then it must be safe. The fact that it flies in the face of the ANC’s own campaign means that a policy designed to literally save thousands of lives is being totally undermined.
Secondly in the eyes of the world Jacob Zuma is South Africa just as much as Barack Obama is America. As we witnessed in Davos the world has become a global village and the leading players like Zuma put under a microscope. As I stated previously I fully support the president’s lifestyle choice of polygamy but this latest conduct is not acceptable particularly because polygamy affords him so much more choice.
The president has pointed out that he has followed the Zulu customs to the letter of the law. I have yet to read anything vaguely derogatory about Zulu customs. However the president needs to be aware that he is the president of South Africa and not only the Zulu people and marriage in terms of the laws of the country have not been complied with as yet. Just as Obama is not the president of Christian Americans but all its citizens so too in the case of Zuma. Accordingly where he is to take another wife as he did in the case of Ms Madiba he is expected to advise the country who should only wish him well for the future.
This is not being hard on the president because the way this saga unfolded made us the laughing stock of much of the world and endangers the lives of the young people of this country. If regard is had to the Madiba marriage where the media only wanted to find out all the gossip and get some pictures as opposed to what has transpired here then it is easy to see what happens when things are done in the right way as opposed to the wrong way.
In the recent case of John Terry the court lifted an injunction because it said that if someone in the position of Terry holds himself out as a squeaky-clean individual and is paid a king’s ransom therefore the sponsors and the public have the right to know where this is false. The main premise upon which the judge based his decision is that where the conduct of an individual is prejudicial to the public then they have a right to know the true facts.
In the case of the president of a country where everything he says and does can have a major impact on the citizens thereof how much more compelling is the argument that the public has the right to know all things possible about the man they voted for?
Accordingly we have a very popular president in Jacob Zuma who enjoys the support of the majority of all races as things presently stand. In accordance therewith the president needs to continue to earn that loyalty by carrying our message to the world in the best possible light.
Shooting the messengers for reporting the indiscretion is both unfair and unworthy of the president and the ruling party and not in the spirit of rewarding that support.
Of course his sex life is not beyond scrutiny. On the other hand, it is not particularly interesting except insofar as it reveals his general behaviour patterns. The way in which journalists have fallen over themselves to talk about what Zuma does or does not do with his penis is an embarrassing contrast with the failure of journalists to pay any serious attention to the political failures and broken promises of his administration. It’s almost as if they feel it’s safer to make dick jokes than to do their jobs. And, Mr. Trapido, isn’t this your second posting on the subject this week?
By introducing the entirely spurious notion that the media were suggesting that the hapless child does not a right to exist, Papa Zuma was setting the stage for yet another lawsuit whilst in true Zuma-speak style he appeared to be defending the right of the media to exist on Constitutional grounds. Let us not forget the proposed Act to curb the media that Zuma seemed tacitly to approve by launching lawsuits prior to his election–and even after.
This is not about morals; it’s about money. How much Zuma’s ever-expanding family is costing and will continue to cost the tax payers (an endangered species already) in future in view of the very generous terms of the Presidential pension plan.
As long as the tax payer foots the bill, it is in Zuma’s interest to keep reproducing and marrying! He has no cares. No one expects him to earn a living. He has the pension and the ANC and ANCYL to look after him.
Right? Surely Julius would never abandon his ‘father’?
At least not until he is safely ensconced in the President’s cushy chair himself…
You are right The Creator I’ve done two and other writers have done three or four.
There is nothing more important right now than freedom of the press.
I also did about 5 on Shaik and De Kock’s pardon, n on our shabby foreign policy and any number of issues relating to corruption at the top.
Cwele etc you name it I’ve covered it.
As you say it takes guts to tackle those topics.
I have read Zuma’s statement directly. He is not complaining about his own privacy and Sonono Khoza’s. He is complaining about the invasion of privacy of a 4 month-year old baby by the name of Thandekile Zuma – Zuma’ 20th child.
This child’s name and identity were mentioned in the Sunday Times article. Our laws don’t even name a child who is suspected to be a killer. The same goes in the UK in the case of a 10 year old child who with his brother were convicted after beating another child and left him for dead. None of the newspapers and journalists named the name of Zuma’s rape accuser during the rape trial.
Zuma and Sonono are fair game who can take the heat and violation of their privacy due to Zuma’s holding of public office. In rightfully chastisizing and condeming Zuma’s behaviour is the media not going to far in naming and identifying a 4 month old girl?
This girl will grow up in an environment wherein all journalists will argue that she does not have any privacy rights even though she does not hold any public office. She will grow up with a stigma of a child born out of wedlock “bastard” because everyone’s first association with her name and identity is through her father’s shenanigans. She will read about her story later in life and read all the blogs. I wonder how the commentary will affect psychologically!
Now you’ve done it Mike! Siphiwo and Dave Harris are going to come after you with their machine guns blazing. They are going to call you an unreconstructed racist who longs for the days of apartheid. You are going to be called an untransformed white bigot who should emigrate to Australia.
I haven’t heard JZ complaining about any accolades he receives in the press so why does he complain when the negative stuff is splashed across the pages? If you bask in the sunlight of the accolades then best you grow a backbone and take the knocks when they are dished up after grossly irresponsible, reckless behaviour of this nature – whether political, social, personal or whatever. Every privilege implies a responsibility and if you are not going to take the responsibility seriously, then don’t accept the privilege either. Talk about Peter Pan Syndrome! Are all the wives and twenty or more children registered on his medical aid? Tax payers must be coughing up for his medical aid the equivalent to what many would only dream of earning in a year! Wisdom, integrity, self discipline, responsibility please Mr President!
“At the same time he marked his displeasure at the manner in which the story was broken in the media .”
Who cares whether the president was displeasured? This is a democracy and he is accountable to the nation. He screwed up, he should face the consequences. Of course given his past screw ups and the fact that he has somehow got away with them one could understand that he, stupidly, thinks he is infallible, but that is not correct.
Boy oh Boy sex and scandal sells newspapers and gets traffic on blog sites, hey.
I actually have empathy with the ANC sycophants on this one – enough with Zuma’s sex life and sexual indiscretions already.
What difference does it make if he has 3, 4 or ten wives to us (other than the drain on the fiscus!), or how many more illegitimate children pop up out of the woodwork or friends’ daughters get introduced to the Presidential member?
These characteristics, that many would see as flaws are not the main reason why he is unfit to hold any office , never mind the highest office.
What makes him totally unfit is:
- The lingering suspicion of corruption after the 783 charges against him were withdrawn.
-The incontrevertable evidence from the Shaik trial
- The lack of any reasonable level of education (would you like a nurse’s aid to perform brain surgery on your child? No – thought not. But you’re OK with a person with no education running the country?)
- The fact that he appears beholden to various interest groups and dodgy characters who put him in power.
Enough with the sex and sleaze – lets concentrate on the important issues.
You are right The Creator I’ve done two and other writers have done three or four.
There is nothing more important right now than freedom of the press.
I also did about 5 on Shaik and De Kock’s pardon, n on our shabby foreign policy and any number of issues relating to corruption at the top.
Cwele etc you name it I’ve covered it.
As you say it takes guts to tackle those topics.
So have you done or said anything on land dispossession and its remedy?My recollection of your blogs do not tell me that.How about eradication of poverty?How to end racism in the world,not only SA?Is creation of jobs the only task for government?
I am convinced you,Sentletse and other bloggers have decided to suck up to the Capitalist media which dictates topics for the week.We dont hear you blogging on things that affect the ordinary voter who lives in a mudhouse in Bothitong.I wonder do you know where Bothitong is for instance, for you.
Anyway I dont think the voter is that naive to suggest that JZ resign.In fact we will ask him not to repeat what we did.I dont even hear you and your ilk say anything about the women who subject themselves to the charms of our President.This conversation ends here.
Phemelo – “This conversation ends here.” Do you believe in the “right of reply” “freedom of the press” or any of the other important stuff in the Constitution? What gives you the right to end the conversation without giving Michael (or any other blogger) his right to reply? Really – let’s end the victim mentality – if you want to bring up topics for discussion you consider important, start your own blog. Freedom of speech is just another Constitutional right – so Michael is perfectly entitled to bring up topics he considers important and we are entitled to respond – including you – which you have done. The press has not created this scandal around JZ or any of the many and varied scandals related to him that keep rearing their ugly heads – he has single handedly done that. In this regard, he is his own worst enemy- the press has merely highlighted the stuff he has done – good and bad. So if he doesn’t want negative publicity, best he learns to behave himself. Considering our dire HIV AIDS stats, you don’t honestly think that sending out a message to the men and women of this country, young and old, that indiscriminate sex is okay when in actual fact it will ultimately kill you, is not serious!? It is arguably as serious as any of the many desperate problems you list and deserves just as much commentary. Get real!
@Rose Morrow
The intention of the capitalist media is to focus on the bad.Rape charges,love child,corrupt relationship,etc are all headlines that have appeared on the front pages of our Sunday and daily papers.Success stories of the ANC government like having built a significant number of houses is not front page news.Other middle page story may include JZ intervetion in service delivery through his micro-managing volatile areas like Balfour, meetings with Mayors,introduction of Presidential hotline,resolving to remove Municipal officials from political office, rekindling talks between Zanu-PF and MDC by sending a task team(not so QUIET DIPLOMACY), I can go on and on.
JZ has admitted paternity and is remorseful.I on the other hand am very envious of him that at his age he is virile but that does not suggest we will do what he did. I think people like you should really focus on issues that really make a difference in peole’s life and maybe that way we shall not be bothered by your comments that seek to villify our President.
When I said the conversation ends,i meant that this topic is exhausted. I mean Mike has discussed it three times already.Thus the assertion that he and others are part of the problem cresated by the Capitalist media that we discuss issues that do not seek to highlight what good our ANC government is doing for our people.Focus rather is on scandal after scandal which
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diverts our attention from pertinent issues that may correct the injustes of the past.This is not about victim mentality or any chip on my shoulder,if I may borrow your words.If we did not have apartheid and colonialism in Africa we would not be discussing these issues simply because JZ would not have made a decision to join the struggle and pursue it through the ANC.In that way he would not have left a young wife and gone into exile and spent some time in Robben Island thereafter.
I do have ambitions to have a medium where real issues that will change people’s lives are discussed.In the meantime media like this will be used to correct some of the misdirection the Capitalist media is pursuing.For instance, when are we going to talk about the evils of dispossession been gauranteed by section 25 of our beloved Constitution that some members of the judiciary want to protect?How do we channel resources to reach the unemployed man in Bothitong whose circumstances never changed after 1994 due to the false freedom of FW?How do we nationalise our mines without scaring Investors?What did Botswana do to convince De Beers to mine its land as a state owned/private company?How do we eradicate poverty without depending on social grants?How do we secure food as we reclaim our dispossed land from descendents of colonial masters with reasonable compensation,if necessary?The list goes on.New Topic?
If I may add,it takes resources to investigate a news item.So this may mean someone’s visit to a gynaecologist were monitored.Family consultation were eavesdropped on by some malicious relative.A journalist was consulted thereafter.The journalist then made follow ups especially with regards to payment of INHLAWULO.Then boom,front page news with unnamed sources without allowing respondent a proper response without naming of source.I am reminded of one journalist of the Sunday Times,Mzilikazi wa Afrika (who was later unceremoniuosly removed).
Now imagine if the same resources were used to investigate the abject poverty existing in Bothitong what difference the media shall make in our country.The media will be exposing issues that our ANC government has not paid thorough attention to.A response will then follow that will make much difference.The M&G is not absolved from this malady of the Capitalist media.The intention is to make the public believe that what is of public interest is the nocturnal carnal activities of our President.To the Third Estate it is not what the man in Bothitong has to endure in his daily grinding activities but what Khanyi Mbau or John Terry have been up to lately.
Some of us will not cower to you and your ilk’s misrepresentation of the world through your big media houses.We will continue exposing such maladies.
Phemelo! Capitalist media? What are you talking about? This blog is associated with Mail & Guardian which extensively and regularly discusses ALL the issues you speak of. SAFM (SABC)(purportedly completely editorially independent) has these topics for discussion ad infinitum and had a weekly programme dedicated to information around RDP housing hosted by Eric Meyeni. Sunday Independent-same thing! These media houses provide across the board, informed, educated opinion on a wide range of pertinent positive and negative issues. And please! The media doesn’t vilify JZ – he vilifies himself with his behaviour – his record of adultery and children born out of wedlock is just outrageous – and don’t pull the culture thing please! This is just ongoing juvenile, self centred, immoral, ill disciplined behaviour. Don’t shoot the messenger – EXPECT MORE OF YOUR PRESIDENT! He represents South Africa at home and abroad! And Phemelo – you may not have been directly affected by HIV AIDS or infidelity and deceit in marriage, but millions of South Africans have been crushed and fractured by the grief that comes with loved ones dying of AIDS and their families torn apart by marital infidelity and spousal disrespect. Our president is meant to be a role model for South Africans – that is his responsibility and it’s not much to ask considering all the privileges he derives from his position! “Example is not the main thing in influencing and leading others – it is the only thing”. Schweitzer.
Rose Morrow
I have never in my contribution on this blog disputed the responsibility of OUR PRESIDENT(I wonder is he not your President as well) to be a role model.Neither did I hide behind cultural aspects in Afrika to protect JZ.
My gripe is the enthusiasm and effort in exposing negative things affecting OUR PRESIDENT.This is never afforded to issues that should make a difference to people’s lives.
Let me jog your memory with a quote from an earlier contribution,”For instance, when are we going to talk about the evils of dispossession been gauranteed by section 25 of our beloved Constitution that some members of the judiciary want to protect?How do we channel resources to reach the unemployed man in Bothitong whose circumstances never changed after 1994 due to the false freedom of FW?How do we nationalise our mines without scaring Investors?What did Botswana do to convince De Beers to mine its land as a state owned/private company?How do we eradicate poverty without depending on social grants?How do we secure food as we reclaim our dispossed land from descendents of colonial masters with reasonable compensation,if necessary?The list goes on.New Topic? ”
The M&G,Sunday Independent, Sunday Times, City Press and The Star are all for profit and its owners are Capitalist in nature.Other Capitalists advertise in these papers because they are assured the topics tackled do not change the status quo.In fact they do
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dictate our agenda with their rands and dollars and pounds.Breaking news normally comes from these print media.The SABC then follows suit,as a public broadcaster.Their journalists like bo-Nsiki Mgabadeli,who think in middle class language,get trapped in this Capitalist media agenda.The Editorial team is not absolved from this syndrome.
It is not my problem Rose that you are not familiar to the concept DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM.Citizens have a responsibility to question and analyse everything that the media feeds us.We have to question why should we be told of the sexual trysts of JZ instead of his plans on the eradication of poverty. Why is the media focusing on on the negative instead of the positive.In fact the media is unpatriotic because people like Rupert Murdoch,Trevor Ncube,etc own part of our media and they believe scandal sells.If the media were so much against corruption, it would have exposed the private sector corruption as well.For instance, what happened to the diamonds that De Beers mined and smuggled out the country pre-1994?How much of the platinum and gold mined by Anglo American is declared to DME? How much effort is put to expose price fixing and collusion by goods and services providers?
If effort and enthusiasm is afforded to the positive and negative maybe I will keep quiet.For now now we will continue to have an unbalaced view of the country.
Rose
I must admit our views expressed on this blog are motivated by our backgrounds.We do not think alike simply because we do not think of the same means to an end.If you grew up in a matchbox house with aspirations to be a doctor,lawyer,aeronautical engineer,statistician,etc;the way you react to your material conditions will definitely be different to the one who grew up with a bath and flushing toilet in the house.If someone comes into the very matchbox house and takes it by force, your reaction to that violent takeover will be just as brutal.JZ represents the down trodden from matchboxes who have voted for him overwhelmengly.These voters are failing to see him anytime they want and the little media they have expressing JZ’s plans, will do.so if the media continues to focus on the negative,doubt will definitely creep in and that is the intention of the Capitalist media.