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The Politics of Jacob Zuma Edited by Sean Jacobs CONCERNED AFRICA SCHOLARS Bulletin N°84 — Winter 2010 concernedafricascholars.org The Politics of Jacob Zuma Edited by Sean Jacobs 01-03 Editor’s introduction 39-45 Populism and the National Democratic Sean Jacobs Revolution in South Africa Ari Sitas 04-07 Presidentialism and its pitfalls: towards a theory of how not to understand the Zuma 46-51 Jacob Zuma and the evanescent legacy of presidency nineteenth-century Zulu cosmopolitanism and Suren Pillay nationalism Hlonipha Mokoena 08-11 Scoring an own-goal Peter Dwyer 52-61 Tradition’s Desire: the politics of culture in the rape trial of Jacob Zuma 12-33 The Zuma era in ANC history: new crisis or Thembisa Waetjen & Gerhard Maré new beginning? Raymond Suttner 62-65 Jacob Zuma’s Robben Island legacy Fran Buntman 34-38 Why is the ‘100% Zulu Boy’ so popular? Benedict Carton 66-67 Review: Zunami! The 2009 South African Election by Roger Southall & John Daniel Sean Jacobs Editor’s Introduction Introduction The Politics of Jacob Zuma Sean Jacobs Jacob Zuma, the President of Africa’s most powerful corruption charges against Zuma — decided to relieve democracy since April 2009, and the recently chosen Zuma of his duties as deputy president. A few months ‘African President of the Year’ (Sapa 2009), arouses later Zuma was charged with raping the HIV-positive strong passions from his supporters and detractors. daughter of his former cellmate on Robben Island. A longtime ANC official from a humble peasant back- Though Zuma was acquitted of the rape charge, during ground in what is now Kwazulu-Natal province, Zuma the trail he claimed to have showered after sex to pre- was picked by the ANC to be the country’s deputy vent possible infection and also suggested that his al- president under Thabo Mbeki in 1999. leged victim invited sex by dressing provocatively. His supporters — who held marches and rallies outside the The men, close colleagues during exile (and during the court — also threatened his accuser with death. She early years of negotiating with the Apartheid govern- eventually sough asylum in the Netherlands. ment), appeared to only enjoy a friendly rivalry at that point. By most accounts, Zuma would have been set for cer- tain political isolation. Instead, a combination of fac- So when it came to predicting who would lead South tors resurrected his political career. Africa when Mbeki departed the national stage, most observers did not think of Zuma as a serious contend- Zuma’s warm personality contrasted sharply with er. He hardly featured in the daily cut and thrust of Mbeki’s cold, secretive and paranoid character (Mbeki national politics, save for spearheading a ‘moral re- at one point had the Minister of Police investigate three generation’ effort and co-chairing a national body to of his rivals for ANC President). Zuma’s poor back- coordinate the government’s AIDS prevention and ground — he is from a peasant family; his single moth- treatment effort with NGOs. No one took the focus er was a domestic to white Durban families — also dif- on morals seriously and Mbeki was really in charge of fered from Mbeki’s status as an ANC insider (Mbeki’s AIDS policy. father was a rival of Mandela and served more than two decades on Robben Island; in fact, Mbeki was sent Then in 2004 Shabir Shaik, a close associate of Zuma, out of South Africa to prepare him for leadership). was tried on charges of corruption and fraud relating to a controversial $5 billion government arms deal. Mbeki’s government also became associated with cro- During the trail it emerged that Shaik managed Zu- ny corruption and loyalty to non-performing ministers ma’s finances and that Zuma was probably embroiled and senior government officials, AIDS deaths (and in a corrupt relationship with Shaik (he was accused denialism) as well as other negative social indicators of procuring bribes for Zuma from arms manufactur- (massive unemployment and growing class fissures ers). among blacks, among others). In June 2005, President Mbeki — alluding to possible Mbeki’s critics inside the ANC and its allies (the trade union movement and communists) found in Jacob Zuma — ‘the 100% Percent Zulu Boy’ — an ambitious Sean Jacobs is an Assistant Professor of Media and Cul- politician and willing accomplice. ture in the Graduate Program in International Affairs at the New School, New York. 1 BULLETIN N°84 - WINTER 2010 CONCERNED AFRICA SCHOLARS Sean Jacobs Introduction : The politics of Jacob Zuma For Mbeki’s opponents ground zero would be the par- idential terms. This means Zuma will now certainly ty’s national conference in December 2007 — where dominate South African politics for the next decade. the ANC usually anoints its leaders and, since 1990, when it was unbanned, its presidential candidates. Unlike his predecessors as South Africa’s democratic presidents — Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki — Publicly Mbeki — who by now could not conceal his Zuma is a relatively close book. He is also not known open disdain for Zuma, denied that he wanted to to write things down. change the country’s constitution and serve a third term, leaving it to his surrogates to publicly promote But Zuma, like Mbeki before him, is considered a po- the idea. When his proposal of a third-term was re- larizing figure in mainstream accounts. Journalist jected by the ANC, Mbeki in- Mark Gevisser (2007), who stead offered to remain only authored a 900-odd page bi- as party president. Publicly Mbeki denied that he wanted ography of Thabo Mbeki, lat- er declared that he is not a fan No one could predict what fol- to change the country’s constitution of Zuma. Gevisser later wrote lowed next: Zuma trounced and serve a third term, leaving it to an article for the British Pros- Mbeki in elections for party pect Magazine to declare that leader (he won nearly twice his surrogates to publicly promote the he would not vote for the ANC the number of voters Mbeki with Zuma as leader (Gevisser got). idea. When his proposal of a third- 2009). Former ANC member term was rejected by the ANC, Mbeki of parliament, Andrew Fein- With Mbeki now controlling stein, in his book about the the state and Zuma the party, instead offered to remain only as arms deal, described Jacob something had to give. It was Zuma as morally compro- clear Zuma’s camp held the party president. No one could predict mised. Some, like journalist upper hand and in September what followed next: Zuma trounced Alec Russell, hedge their bets 2008 Mbeki resigned his post on Zuma. In his recent book as the country’s president. Mbeki in elections for party leader— on South Africa, Russell (who This plunged the ANC into its was a fan of Mbeki’s rightwing first serious crisis since the —he won nearly twice the number of economic policies) speculates 1970s (then a group of rabid voters Mbeki got. on what kind of leader Jacob African nationalists were ex- Zuma will be: ‘If South Africa pelled because of their views is lucky, Zuma will be its Ro- of whites and communists). nald Reagan’. That is if Zuma Some party leaders close to Mbeki eventually broke leaves the governing to technocrats, while working to away to form the Congress of the People (COPE) in ‘make the country feel good about itself’. At the same October 2008. Though the ANC appointed the party time Zuma could develop into a ‘Big Man personality secretary-general, Kgalema Montlante, as President cult’ and a ‘charismatic populist,’ according to Russell of South Africa, it was clear that the preferred can- (2009). But with the exception of Russell, none of the didate of those who had ousted Mbeki, was Zuma. In other books claim to be about Zuma specifically. early 2009 the corruption charges against Zuma was dismissed. Soon after he was declared the ANC’s can- To shed light on the politics and ideology of Jacob didate for President. Zuma, contrary to elite opinion, Zuma, we approached a number of experts (among especially foreign and domestic media, emerged as a them historians, political scientists, and sociologists) capable leader, rallying the ANC’s core supporters and based inside and outside South Africa, to shed led on running a smooth, tight election campaign to be elect- Zuma’s politics and biography. In these essays, the ed as South Africa’s third democratic president. contributors attempt to get beyond the headlines to explore aspects of Zuma’s political identity, his class Zuma had campaigned with the promise that he would politics, biography (Robben Island, his Zuluness), his only serve one term, but in June 2009 he announced political alliances, style of government, gender poli- that he wants to serve the maximum allowed two pres- tics, among others. CONCERNED AFRICA SCHOLARS BULLETIN N°84 - WINTER 2010 2 Sean Jacobs Introduction : The politics of Jacob Zuma Essays are by Suren Pillay, Peter Dwyer, Raymond Sut- Gevisser, M. 2009. Why I didn’t vote for the ANC, tner, Ari Sitas, Hlonipha Mokoena, Thembisa Waetjen Prospect Magazine, May, pp.19-20, http://www. and Gerhard Mare and Fran Buntman. There is also prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/05/whyididntvoteanc/ an essay by an Anonymous contributor. Rather than summarize them here, we have decided to let them Russell, A. 2009. Bring Me My Machine Gun: The speak for themselves. Battle for the Soul of South Africa, from Mandela to Zuma. New York, Public Affairs. Layout and additional editing for this issue was done by Jacob Mundy, my fellow editor of the Bulletin. South African Press Agency (SAPA). 2009. ‘Zuma Crowned African President of the Year’, Mail & Guardian online, 11 November 2009, http://www.
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