Jacob Zuma

Jacob Zuma

I did this little sketch in 2005, when Jaco Zuma was being investigated on corruption charges. He had the support of the masses back then and nothing has changed. He has been elected party leader of the ANC in South Africa and will be running the country by 2009. The follwing article was in Dec 20 SMH online.

“POPULIST Jacob Zuma has overcome allegations of corruption and an acquittal on a rape charge to win the leadership of South Africa’s governing party, putting the candidate of the poor and angry townships on course to become the next president.

The vote represents a dramatic shift in the country where Nelson Mandela and his successor, the elegant and intellectual Thabo Mbeki, presided over an era of remarkable political and economic stability after the end of apartheid in 1994.

But many among the rank and file of the African National Congress did not think President Mbeki did enough to improve the lives of the poor. It was these section of the ANC that voted overwhelmingly for Mr Zuma.

It is unclear in which direction Mr Zuma plans to take the ANC as he has studiously avoided outlining what he stands for. But he has tried to reassure international investors that he will not veer sharply from Mr Mbeki’s economic policies.

He draws his support from poor South Africans, with one-quarter naming him as preferred leader in a recent opinion poll.

Mr Mbeki’s critics see his Achilles’ heel as his failure to tackle AIDS. Within the ANC, he is seen as being remote and dictatorial. ignoring the concerns of the party and its allies, the unions and the Communist Party.

But many people will be unhappy with the election of a man who faces potential criminal charges – he still faces corruption and tax-evasion charges – and who has expressed highly controversial attitudes about sex, AIDS and homosexuals. In a thinly veiled reference to Mr Zuma, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, recently pleaded with the ANC not to vote in someone who would shame the country.

Some also fear that if Mr Zuma escapes conviction and becomes the country’s president, it could usher in the problems of corruption and patronage seen in neighbouring African countries.”

Robyn Dixon in Polokwane, South Africa
December 20, 2007

“The 65-year-old was sacked by Mbeki as deputy head of state in 2005 when his financial advisor was jailed for fraud. Later Zuma stood trial for raping a family friend less than half his age.

Though acquitted, he was widely ridiculed for testifying he had showered after sex with his HIV-positive accuser to prevent infection.”
www.iol.co.za Dec 19 2007

Jacob Zuma belongs to the following groups:

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