Jacob Zuma

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Jacob Zuma

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (born Inkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, April 12, 1942) is a former Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa and current deputy president of the governing political party, the African National Congress (ANC). A popular figure even across political divides, he gained notoriety after his financial advisor, Schabir Shaik, was convicted of corruption and fraud, leading to Zuma's dismissal as deputy president in June 2005. Zuma was formally charged with corruption soon after, but the case was struck from the roll after the prosecution's application for a postponement was dismissed^[1].

In December 2005, he was also charged in the Johannesburg High Court with rape. The accuser, the young daughter of a deceased friend of Zuma's during the struggle years against apartheid, was known by Zuma to be HIV positive. On May 8, 2006, the Court dismissed the charges, agreeing that the sexual act in question was consensual. During the trial, Zuma admitted to having unprotected sex with his accuser but claimed that he took a shower afterwards to cut the risk of contracting HIV. This statement has been condemned by the judge, health experts, AIDS activists as well as ridiculed by the public in general. The popular South African comic strip, Madam & Eve, has repeatedly lampooned the matter.

As probably the most prominent Zulu African National Congress politician and a leader for leftist constituencies within the ANC, he has rallied the support of many even after his dismissal. Because of this support, he was able to keep his role as Deputy President of the ANC and since his acquittal has resumed his position in the ANC. Though his political future appeared more clouded when he was charged with rape, his most vocal supporters have stayed faithful, gathering outside the courthouse to rally for him during his trial and court hearings and to celebrate the not guilty verdict.

The question of whether Zuma will be and should be South Africa's next president is currently hotly debated in the media. Many South Africans are opposed to Zuma becoming president claiming that he is immoral. However, he remains popular, especially amoungst Zulus, and the youth league of the African National Congress (the ruling party of South Africa) argue that Zuma has served The Struggle well.

1 Early years
2 Imprisonment and ban
3 Return to politics
4 Rise to national leadership
5 Criminal charges
- 5.1 Corruption charges
- 5.2 Rape charges
6 Continued support after corruption charges
7 Analysis
8 Zuma vs. the media
9 Anti-Gay Controversy
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

[edit] Early years

Born 12 April 1942 in Inkandla, in what is now KwaZulu Natal Province, Zuma spent his childhood moving between Zululand and the suburbs of Durban. His father was a policeman, who died at the end of World War II when Zuma was still a young boy. His clan name is Msholozi. Jacob Zuma did not receive any formal schooling.

He became involved in politics at an early age and joined the African National Congress in 1959. He became an active member of Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1962, following the banning of the ANC in 1960.

[edit] Imprisonment and ban

In 1963, he was arrested with a group of 45 recruits near Zeerust in the western Transvaal, currently part of the North West Province. Convicted of conspiring to overthrow the government, he was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, which he served on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela and other notable ANC leaders who were also imprisoned there.

After his release, he was instrumental in the re-establishment of ANC underground structures in the Natal province.

He left South Africa in 1975, based first in Swaziland and then Mozambique, and dealt with the arrival of thousands of exiles in the wake of the Soweto uprising.

He became a member of the ANC National Executive Committee in 1977. He also served as Deputy Chief Representative of the ANC in Mozambique, a post he occupied until the signing of the Nkomati Accord between the Mozambican and South African governments in 1984. After signing the Accord, he was appointed as Chief Representative of the ANC.

Zuma was forced to leave Mozambique in January 1987 after considerable pressure on the Mozambican government by the PW Botha regime. He moved to the ANC Head Office in Lusaka, Zambia, where he was appointed Head of Underground Structures and shortly thereafter Chief of the Intelligence Department.

He served on the ANC's political and military council when it was formed in the mid-1980s.

[edit] Return to politics

Following the end of the ban on the ANC in February 1990, he was one of the first ANC leaders to return to South Africa to begin the process of negotiations.

In 1990, he was elected Chairperson of the ANC for the Southern Natal region, and took a leading role in fighting political violence in the region between members of the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party. The IFP, led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, put particular emphasis on Zulu pride and political power during this period. In this context, Zuma's Zulu heritage made his role especially important in the ANC's efforts to end the violence, to emphasize the political (rather than tribal) roots of the violence, and to win the support of Zulu people in the region.

He was elected the Deputy Secretary General of the ANC the next year, and in January 1994 he was nominated as the ANC candidate for the Premiership of KwaZulu Natal.

[edit] Rise to national leadership

After the 1994 general election, Zuma was appointed as Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) of Economic Affairs and Tourism for the KZN provincial government, after stepping aside to allow Thabo Mbeki to run unopposed for deputy presidency. In December 1994, he was elected National Chairperson of the ANC and chairperson of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, and was re-elected to the latter position in 1996. He was elected Deputy President of the ANC at the National Conference held at Mafikeng in December 1997 and consequently appointed executive Deputy President of South Africa in June 1999, and was widely believed to be heir apparent to the presidency after Thabo Mbeki steps down.

In June 1998, Zuma divorced from Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is currently the minister for Foreign Affairs.

During this time, Zuma also worked in Kampala, Uganda as facilitator of the Burundi peace process, along with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Museveni chairs the Great Lakes Regional Initiative, a grouping of regional presidents overseeing the peace process in Burundi, where several armed Hutu groups took up arms in 1993 against a government and army dominated by the Tutsi minority that had assassinated the first president elected from the Hutu majority.

[edit] Criminal charges

[edit] Corruption charges

Bulelani Ngcuka, the national director of Public Prosecutions at the time, investigated both Zuma and the Chief Whip of the ANC, Tony Yengeni, after allegations of abuse of power were leveled against them. This concerned improper influence in the controversial arms deal, and the question of financial benefit as a result of such influence. While Yengeni was found guilty, the case was dropped against Zuma, with Ngcuka stating "…that there was prima facie evidence of corruption, but insufficient to win the case in court", Ngcuka moved to private practice after criticism from the ANC over this incident.

In 2004, Zuma became a key figure mentioned in the Schabir Shaik trial. Schabir Shaik, a Durban businessman and his financial advisor, was questioned over the purchase by South Africa of some Valour class patrol corvettes, a proposed waterfront development in Durban, and lavish spending on Zuma's residence in Nkandla. On 2 June 2005, Shaik was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison, with Judge Hilary Squires widely reported to have described the relationship between Zuma and Shaik as "generally corrupt.", although this description does not appear in the court transcripts. ^[2]

After twelve days of intense media speculation about his future, President Thabo Mbeki relieved Zuma of his duties as deputy president on 14 June 2005. Mbeki told a joint sitting of parliament that "in the interest of the honourable Deputy President, the government, our young democratic system and our country, it would be best to release the honourable Jacob Zuma from his responsibilities as Deputy President of the republic and member of the cabinet." Zuma then resigned as a Member of Parliament.

Shortly thereafter, the National Prosecuting Authority announced it would charge Zuma with two counts of corruption. The trial date was set for July 31, 2006 [1], but the case was struck from the roll after the prosecution's application for a postponement was dismissed^[1]. However, the current situation indicates that Zuma may be recharged with corruption pertaining to this case. One out of three courts have found that the legality of a search and seizure operation on Zuma's home in 2005 was within the law. Coupled with the fact that Schabir Shaik is guilty of corruption and begins his sentence from 7 November 2006, the prosecution's case against Zuma appears to have gained a little more footing.

[edit] Rape charges

Main article: Jacob Zuma rape trial

In November, 2005 an investigation began into charges that he had raped the 31 year old daughter of a deceased struggle comrade at his home in Forest Town, Johannesburg. Even before charges were filed, the news media reported that the alleged victim was a member of a prominent ANC family and also an AIDS activist; and that Zuma had acknowledged a consensual sexual relationship with the woman in question.

On the morning of December 6, 2005, rape charges against Zuma were formally filed. Zuma vehemently denied the charges, and affirmed his political commitment to oppose sexual violence.

A crowd of supporters and the curious outside the Johannesburg High Court.

Even before charges were filed, as rumors about rape accusations surfaced later in November Zuma's political prospects began to appear to take a turn for the worse. The charge of rape is considered much more serious in South Africa. Most of Zuma's higher-level political supporters could not respond to these new charges the way they had the corruption charges. These allegations seemed at first to take the steam out of Zuma's supporters, but in a hearing prior to Zuma's rape trial, a group of thousands of Zuma supporters gathered near the courthouse, as a smaller gathering of anti-rape groups demonstrated on behalf of the alleged rape survivor. [2] As he did throughout the trial, Zuma sang Lethu Mshini Wami with the crowd, and ANC Youth League and Communist Party Youth League spokesmen spoke in support of Zuma.[3] Zuma had not entirely lost his support base.

As Zuma's rape trial proceeded, reports surfaced that the South African Communist Party was severely divided over how to address the issue of Zuma and the SACP's relationship to him. Many members of the party's youth wing supported Zuma while others in the SACP were sceptical about the value of rallying behind a particular person as opposed to emphasizing principles of governance.[4][5][6]

Despite the defection of some former supporters, many Zuma supporters continued to rally outside the courthouse, arousing criticism by anti-rape groups for regular attacks on the integrity and moral standing of Zuma's accuser, insults yelled at a close friend of the accuser, and even stones thrown at a woman that members of the crowd mistook for the accuser.[7]. Zuma's defense team introduced evidence relating to the woman's sexual past, and asserted that the sex that took place was consensual. The prosecution asserted that her lack of resistance was due to a state of shock, and that the relationship between the two was like that of a 'father-daughter' pair.[8][9]

The trial also generated political controversy when Zuma, who headed the National AIDS Council, admitted that he had not used a condom when having sex with the woman who now accuses him of rape, despite knowing that she was HIV-positive. He stated in court that he took a shower to try to reduce his risk of infection, upsetting HIV educators who emphasized that this would do nothing to prevent HIV transmission.[10]

On May 8, 2006, the court found Zuma not guilty of the charge of rape.

[edit] Continued support after corruption charges

While serving as deputy president, Zuma enjoyed considerable support in parts of the left wing of the ANC, including many in the ANC Youth League, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). While Zuma faced corruption charges, these organizations remained supportive of Zuma, perhaps hoping to have more influence in a future Zuma government. The influence of the semi-autonomous structures within the party helped Zuma retain support even as he lost the deputy presidency. For example, although he resigned as ANC deputy president soon after Schaik's convictions, he was reinstated---and granted a salary by the party, a privilege not previously enjoyed by any of the holders of that office.

Zuma's dismissal was interpreted in two ways. Many international observers hailed it as a clear sign that the South African government was dedicated to rooting out corruption within its own ranks. On the other hand, some within South Africa focused on the fact that Zuma and Mbeki represent different constituencies within the African National Congress. Some leftists saw his axing as an opportunity for Mbeki's more market-oriented wing of the party to gain further ascendancy, and theories about a conspiracy to knock Zuma down ran rampant in some South African circles. [11]

Zuma's cause rallied large crowds of supporters to his cause at each of his appearances for corruption-related court dates in 2005. At one court date, Zuma supporters burned t-shirts with Mbeki's picture on them, which earned the condemnation of the ANC; Zuma and his allies urged a return to party discipline for subsequent gatherings. At the next court date in November, Zuma supporters numbering in the thousands gathered to support him; he addressed the Durban crowd in Zulu, urging party unity and singing the apartheid-era struggle song "Mshini" with lyrics that translate literally to "bring me my machine" but understood to refer to a machine gun. At an October tour for the ANC Youth League elsewhere in the country, Zuma also earned the cheers of large crowds. While his political strength is at least partly based on his relationships within intra-party politics, one analyst argued that his supporters' loyalty could be explained as rooted in a Zulu approach to loyalty and mutual aid. [12] Zuma had been particularly successful in rallying Zulu supporters. And the song "Mshini" has become an anthem of pro-Zuma crowds.

Because of his support among elements of the party, Zuma remained a credible political figure even after his dismissal; many believed that all that stood between him and the presidency was a credible defense against the corruption charges brought against him. This was a task made more difficult but by no means impossible by the unequivocal judgment against Shaik. Zuma retained high-ranking status within the ANC and so his supporters hoped that he could still run for president in 2009 if found innocent of the charges made against him. A panel of political analysts convened in November 2005 (before rape charges surfaced) agreed that if he was to be found innocent, Zuma would be hard to beat by any other potential ANC candidate. [13] However, these analysts also questioned whether Zuma was indeed a left-wing candidate of the sort that many of his supporters seem to seek, and noted that the global and national economic constraints that have shaped Mbeki's presidency would be no different in the next presidential term.

[edit] Analysis

Zuma's successor as Deputy President of South Africa is Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the wife of Bulelani Ngcuka, who had been Minister of Minerals and Energy since 1999. While her appointment was widely welcomed by the business community, her popularity with rank-and-file ANC members remains uncertain. She was booed publicly at at least one ANC rally by Zuma supporters between the time corruption charges had been filed but before rape charges were made.[14].

Meanwhile, as his rape trial ended, many South Africans wondered how their political system would recover from the rifts that Zuma's trials have exposed. A Mail and Guardian analysis saw these events as especially troubling:

The political damage is incalculable, with the ruling African National Congress now an openly divided and faltering movement. This has had a domino effect on the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, which have floundered and fractured in the face of damaging charges against a man they ardently backed as the country’s next president.

The trial has been fought against the backdrop of a bitter succession war between Mbeki and Zuma... Mbeki’s support in the ANC has crumbled, with the party faithful refusing to accept that he will anoint a leader... But even Zuma’s most diehard supporters privately acknowledge that he cannot now be president, regardless of the trial outcome. [15]

Nonetheless, Business Day's Karima Brown told the Guardian (UK) after the rape trial's verdict was handed down, "Jacob Zuma is back. This poses a serious dilemma for the ANC leadership. Now Zuma is marching back into Luthuli House [the ANC party HQ]. He will demand to be reinstated as deputy president and the others will find it difficult to block him ... This is a major victory for Zuma's political career." [16]

The prospect of Zuma's return as a contender for the presidency has reportedly caused South African business leaders to work on reassuring international investors; but even as they reassure, an Independent analyst suggested, "The fear of seeing Zuma and his crowd marching to the Union Buildings wielding machine guns is unnerving mostly to the middle class and businessmen, according to recent surveys."[17]

As Zuma faces his corruption trial, the question of presidential succession looks increasingly unlikely for the beleaguered ANC stalwart. Whilst there is no doubt that his innocence or guilt can only be decided by a court of law, his behaviour in recent years has left a shadow over his sense of judgement and necessary education.

[edit] Zuma vs. the media

As a backlash to the frenzied media following of his rape trial, Zuma filed a series of defamation lawsuits against various South African media outlets for publishing unsavoury content that allegedly besmirched his public profile, in the form of cartoons, commentary, photos and parody pieces. These lawsuits were filed on the 30th of June, 2006.

The media outlets that have come under fire are:

The Star - R 20 million
Rapport - R 10 million
Highveld Stereo - R 6 million
The Citizen - R 5 million
Sunday Sun - R 5 million
Sunday Independent - R 5 million
Sunday World - R 5 million

Conservative Party MP advocate Jurg Prinsloo, as well as Wycliffe Mothuloe have been appointed by Zuma to tackle his so-called 'crucifixion by the media.'

The response from the challenged media has been highly critical, and written protests to various media outlets slam accuse that Zuma is challenging the freedom of speech.

[edit] Anti-Gay Controversy

Zuma was sharply criticised by gay and lesbian groups after he made anti-gay remarks at a public meeting on 24 September 2006. He is quoted as saying that same-sex marriages were "a disgrace to the nation and to God" and "When I was growing up, an ungqingili (a homosexual) would not have stood in front of me. I would knock him out." Besides these gay-bashing remarks he also claimed that homosexuality was "un-African".

The Joint Working Group (a homosexual lobby organisation) questioned Zuma's leadership skills and stated that a "true leader leads with intellect and wisdom - not popularity or favour. How can a narrow-minded person like this be expected to lead our nation?"^[3] Jacob Zuma subsequently apologised to those who were offended by the statement^[4], by stating: 'I also respect, acknowledge and applaud the sterling contribution of many gay and lesbian compatriots in the struggle that brought about our freedom, and the role they continue to play in the building of a successful non-racial, non-discriminatory South Africa.'