Getting to know the real Jacob Zuma

The latest controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma illustrates a consistent thread running through his presidency: power abuse.

Zuma believes he is above the law and social norms. He believes that - by virtue of his position - he can get away with anything.

One of his close political associates summed it up the other day when he said, in conversation: Jacob Zuma has a mandate from 11 million people so he can do what he likes.

This attitude applies to Zuma's financial dealings, his relationships with women, and to his relationship with his citizens. If any institution of state gets in his way, it is effectively neutered. If any government campaign requires him to change his behaviour, it is ignored.

Behind his undoubted warmth and charm, this is the real Jacob Zuma. It is also the real ANC.

This is how the ANC understands and uses power. We have, during the past year, witnessed the cynical manipulation that has turned the National Prosecuting Authority and the Judicial Service Commission into extensions of the ANC to protect President Zuma.

The Zuma clique in the ruling party does not seem to grasp that, in a constitutional democracy, ruling parties and their leaders are not above the law or social norms. They may not ignore their own policies. They must be held to account. And they must lead by example.

So what has this got to do with the birth of Jacob Zuma's 20th child?

Everything.

Firstly, Zuma does not consider himself bound by the norms of safe sex that he exhorts his fellow citizens to follow. It is worth repeating what he said in December last year on World Aids Day:

"Prevention is our most powerful weapon against the epidemic… All South Africans should take steps to ensure that they do not become infected, that they do not infect others and that they know their status. Each individual must take responsibility for protection against HIV...It does not mean that we should be irresponsible in our sexual practices. It does not mean that people do not have to practice safer sex. It does not mean that people should not use condoms consistently and correctly during every sexual encounter. We can eliminate the scourge of HIV if all South Africans take responsibility for their actions."

Quite clearly, there is one norm for Jacob Zuma and another for everybody else. This attitude is rooted in the same assumptions that justify his destruction of independent state institutions that seek to call him to account on legal matters against him. After all, he has a mandate from 11 million people. He can do what he likes.

Secondly, the birth of his little girl in October last year neatly illustrates his abuse of power as a husband. This baby was conceived between two marriages. No culture, polygamous or otherwise, justifies cheating on your wife/wives.

This is confirmed by cultural expert Ndela Nelson Ntshangase of the University of KwaZulu-Natal:

"Polygamy allows all children to be born into a family, to have access to both parents, unlike an illegitimate child…If a child is born out of wedlock... the illegitimate child is in a vulnerable position, she is standing on a slippery slope because the child is born into a broken family."

And yet, Zuma has tried to appeal to culture to defend himself.

Like the race card, Zuma and the ANC play the culture card to try and silence legitimate criticism. This opportunistic strategy is actually an abuse of culture. Indeed, it is part of Zuma's pattern of power abuse.

And it justifies further abuse of that culture by his supporters.

As Julius Malema said: "We are Africans, we cannot discuss the private affairs of our elders and Zuma is a father to us all."

The fact is, promiscuity and philandering are not part of Zulu culture, they are in conflict with it. As cultural analyst, Nomboniso Gasa points out:

"According to the cultural milieu to which Malema refers, leadership is earned every day. Ukuzeyisa nobungcathu - self-control, discipline, modesty about one's desires are critical qualities of leadership."

We cannot allow appeals to culture, especially when they are self-servingly distorted, to stop legitimate criticism of an elected leader who is accountable for his actions. Zuma can, and must, be called to account for private actions that have public consequences, particularly when those consequences are so profound.

The truth is that Zuma has set us back at least a decade in the fight against HIV/Aids. His actions will have a far more negative impact than even the Aids denialism of Thabo Mbeki. Getting bogged down in esoteric theories and quack science would have had far less impact on people's behaviour, than a leader who by his own example, justifies unprotected sex. The inevitable response of millions of young men will be: "If the President can do it so can I." This attitude undermines the entire edifice of the government's HIV/Aids programme. It will destroy many lives. And it will cost the taxpayers millions in treating people who contract HIV/AIDS as a result.

There is a clear parallel between Zuma's attitude to HIV/AIDS and his corruption trial. By manipulating the criminal justice system to ensure that he never had to answer the allegations against him in court, he sent out the message that it is okay to be corrupt. It is nobody's culture to justify corruption.

In his admission yesterday, Zuma railed against "opportunistic" critics for encroaching on an "intensely private" matter that does not consider the rights of the child. Really? How touching.

One has to ask: To what extent has his behavior considered the rights of this child, his other children, or every other South African child?

One of the root causes of social disintegration in our country is the failure of so many fathers to take responsibility for their children. Absent fathers rob children of a present parent. Often, they deprive a family of a crucial income source to give children the opportunities they deserve in life.

Zuma is sending out a message that it is okay to father as many children as you want, whatever the social consequences and burden on the state. The difference is that the average single-parent cannot afford to look after 20 children. Indeed, it is questionable whether even Jacob Zuma - on a President's salary - can do so either. Questions need to be asked about where he gets the money to support all his wives and children, but that is another issue for another day.

It may have been feasible in a by-gone rural era, for 20 children of a single father to be properly cared for, nurtured and mentored in an extended family network. In a fragmented urban environment, it is not possible. The children inevitably suffer the consequences. It is nobody's culture to diminish their children's chances in life.

Many of Zuma's actions demonstrate the ANC's belief that there is one law for themselves, and another for the rest of South Africa.

Zuma can get way with things that ordinary people can't. Not only this, he is shielded from the consequences of his actions. This is power abuse, pure and simple.

If there is anything positive about this episode, it is that South Africa is getting to know the real Jacob Zuma, beyond the charm.

The honeymoon, (in the figurative sense at least), is over!

Helen Zille