Have you no shame Mr. Zuma?

A proud, young South African writes to President Jacob Zuma

Dear Mr Zuma

It is with the greatest shock and disgust to read that you have fathered one more child out of wedlock under the pretext of culture that must be respected by all and your pathetic spin doctors insisting that we must respect your privacy, your culture and the office you hold. But on second thought, some may argue that there is nothing surprising about your conduct, given your colorful track record.

Mr Zuma there is nothing respectful about this latest sorry episode, you disrespected yourself, your children, your wives and fiancée, your culture, the office you hold and the people of South Africa, to whom you must account.

Let us be clear upfront, your philandering ways have nothing to do with culture, they have all to do with a man with no values, no principles, no morals who only views women as objects to satisfy your seemingly uncontrollable appetite.

This, by all accounts is a direct attack on the values of decency, which most South Africans hold dear and cherish and does untold damage to the heroic struggles of men and women of our country, who have laid down their lives to reverse the backwards shackles of patriarchy and women abuse in our society. By your act, you have set us back many centuries in the cause for the emancipation of women in our country, let alone the fight against HIV/AIDS. Women are not trophies to be branded about Mr Zuma, they are human beings with emotions and dreams like all of us, why could you not exercise restraint and do the right thing if you had good intentions about her.

Granted, the woman involved is an adult who should have known better, but given many scientific studies that show that women are still the most vulnerable in society in terms of economic freedom, therefore are potentially easily enticed by the prospect of security and better life when pursued by vultures like you and the balance of forces is therefore tipped against them when it comes to negotiating safe sex.

It is also curious that in Davos, Swirtzerland, journalists were pre occupied with your sexual life and conquests, while your peers were fielding questions about how we can make the world a better place and change the world economic order, and you happily indulged them, may be to you it was your moment of glory, no Mr. Zuma it was a moment of great embarrassment that made some of us ashamed to be South Africans in Particular and Africans in general.

Remember the perceptions in the west that African men in particular are just a bunch of horny stallions, who cannot control their urges, lazy, corrupt and like easy money and have nothing meaningful to contribute to human advancement and development. How does our generation defend this insult with people like you around.

It seems you have no clue about the responsibilities of the office you hold, granted you committed no crime in terms of our criminal statutes, but in the eyes of most right thinking South Africans you have committed the greatest crime of all, that of failing to be a repository of the values with which we are trying to build this young nation, worse that the woman involved is a daughter of your peer, an act you are repeating.

Have you no shame Mr. Zuma, don’t you learn from your mistakes, the people of South Africa forgave you and gave you a second chance, is this the gratitude you are showing them for their generosity and good nature, or is it your way of showing them how disrespectful your are to them and take them for granted. .

At this time Mr Zuma, you are given a chance to judge yourself and do the right thing, at least we still hope you know the difference, and save whatever little respect you still command with the right thinking South Africans and step aside, this young and fragile nation does not need a person like you to lead its public life.

For once, don’t be selfish, put the interests of the people of South Africa before yours. Before you do perhaps you should ask yourself the question, what legacy would you like to leave in the minds of the current and future generations?.