South Africa P.I.G.: ZUMA

Showing posts with label ZUMA. Show all posts

Julius Malema protesters target Zuma

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma became the target of the mayhem caused by Julius Malema supporters outside the ANC’s Luthuli House head office in Johannesburg yesterday. ... The rowdy crowd burnt T-shirts with Zuma's face and some ANC flags - with some of the protesters carrying posters that called Zuma a "rapist and a Polokwane disaster". The chanting crowd also identified Zuma as their "enemy". <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5p7w5JnE7ORSpF8t8tgcArjntY8sklmgTmyAIIXjazxo385h1SEx-v7jxSLNlO7S5I7TRjI2xouOZHG6uFeJu2f1NeruZX-Zs_qDUk5yycGAMxoDq6usrRBdyOZBsHg_Q-o8FWZMZkNq/s1600/MALEMA+-+SUPPORTER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5p7w5JnE7ORSpF8t8tgcArjntY8sklmgTmyAIIXjazxo385h1SEx-v7jxSLNlO7S5I7TRjI2xouOZHG6uFeJu2f1NeruZX-Zs_qDUk5yycGAMxoDq6usrRBdyOZBsHg_Q-o8FWZMZkNq/s640/MALEMA+-+SUPPORTER.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>

Julius Malema protesters target Zuma

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma became the target of the mayhem caused by Julius Malema supporters outside the ANC’s Luthuli House head office in Johan...

8:26 AM

The King is suing the court jester

Surely the President has much more pressing issues to consider? Crime? Corruption? Education? The pressing dire catastrophe with the bio-hazardous water beneath JHB's streets rising? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPMVPea1mR4K9G0tVX-YuRAcXTCSd-4xC92jXU1mKeY-CfRnC6DVmRfqPeJJ2d3BH7xpIO_QGG2yHJKAaxuTYX02OJeGbmJw-yeeXXhWsj24TfWtyfzwpb9lZcSnvl9SBWEnB_Ok5OZAG/s1600/zapiro-zuma-sues.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550752182189531298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPMVPea1mR4K9G0tVX-YuRAcXTCSd-4xC92jXU1mKeY-CfRnC6DVmRfqPeJJ2d3BH7xpIO_QGG2yHJKAaxuTYX02OJeGbmJw-yeeXXhWsj24TfWtyfzwpb9lZcSnvl9SBWEnB_Ok5OZAG/s400/zapiro-zuma-sues.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 273px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>No, no... President Zuma would rather use his valuable time to sue a satirist for a cartoon published over two years ago. Seriously President Zuma, in light of your current failing government term you want to further bring more ridicule on yourself by suing a cartoonist? Hey everyone! It's the King suing the court jester! How grand and noble! This is truly a sign of how magnificent our President is... This is disgraceful behaviour and poorly timed. You should have done it two years ago if you were serious, Mr President. Now you just look pathetic and in need of cash for all those kids you've got now burdening the tax payer to allow you to afford your extravagant lifestyle. Shame on you Mr President. This is not how any President should ever act. You're scraping the bottom of the barrel and all those loyal supporters - the smart ones anyway – are quickly become less so.

The King is suing the court jester

Surely the President has much more pressing issues to consider? Crime? Corruption? Education? The pressing dire catastrophe with the bio-haz...

7:50 PM

Day of the long knives

If you took a quarter-century worth of His Excellencies the African leader and tossed them in a blender, you would come up with a Big Man who looks like this: <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535349800197695906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TLPhwFdI9LWYlmzrXnfmONrhfLnegbuC27ngJ0cw442W_Q_YHODd5yqrXjSpX4k5bXMCaUwfemhaiwhN69eIlvPkMXFj32Kg84aegDt1gfkW7es3KQiDVEY1_P2gXapJYz0h25yDrmYY/s400/zuma-money1.png" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" />His face is on the money. His photograph hangs in every office in his realm. His ministers wear gold pins with tiny photographs of him on the lapels of their tailored pin-striped suits. He names streets, football stadiums, hospitals, and universities after himself. He carries a silver-inlaid ivory mace, or an ornately carved walking stick or a fly whisk or a chiefly stool. He insists on being called “Doctor” or “conqueror” or “teacher” or “the big elephant” or “the number-one peasant” or “the most popular leader in the world.” His every pronouncement is reported on the front page. He sleeps with the wives and daughters of powerful men in his government. He shuffles ministers without warning, paralyzing policy decisions as he undercuts pretenders to his throne. He scapegoats minorities to shore up popular support. He bans all political parties except the one he controls. He rigs elections. He emasculates the courts. He cows the press. He stifles academia. He goes to church.source: Blaine Harden - Africa – Dispatches from a Fragile Continent, 1993 <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEika2JhAmjv1qFXmRx9whqnhoaP182QqgsKEKmnROYtJd5XRkzDVrIU82mm4Pcj1UlMWUEZz-_OM8TNZffFrXFX4dgKOA-gO4QOwAWqdi-s_jX4Jn87IqXZM_BGc1Z99ilMJbiybH3Q9eOL/s1600/zuma-hr.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535345982829123938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEika2JhAmjv1qFXmRx9whqnhoaP182QqgsKEKmnROYtJd5XRkzDVrIU82mm4Pcj1UlMWUEZz-_OM8TNZffFrXFX4dgKOA-gO4QOwAWqdi-s_jX4Jn87IqXZM_BGc1Z99ilMJbiybH3Q9eOL/s200/zuma-hr.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 196px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Day of the long knives<a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/">http://www.timeslive.co.za/</a> His Excellency President-General-for-Life Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma hastily assembled his new cabinet on Sunday - some of his ministers were told about their new job only hours before the public announcement. Some ministers learned of their fall from grace through the media ... see full story <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article739112.ece/Day-of-the-long-knives">here</a>

Day of the long knives

If you took a quarter-century worth of His Excellencies the African leader and tossed them in a blender, you would come up with a Big Man wh...

4:50 AM

The country’s most famous polygamist, father for the 22nd time - pregnant fiancée, wife N0.6, bride-in-waiting! Taxpayers (“suckers”) to foot the bill

<div align="left">South Africa's polygamous president, Jacob Zuma, is to become a father for the 22nd time following news that his fiancée is pregnant. </div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513123496377770866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hrjHmZ701o_lGjzHycyIF4xj80GerIlx6DvQJLWmNHk2RRt9kWqoI4YXPi0BvasSClxJJMJ3r1ryBoGWVSGrlHN6HuxKipiMfc7Ka3W9xPabydReS4s2LN1BHfPCnDztruRDFoL_6ETj/s400/nompumelelo-ntuli-jacob-zuma.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 354px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> Jacob Zuma, Gloria Bongi Ngema.Bongiwe Gloria Ngema, who recently accompanied Jacob Zuma on a state visit to China, is expecting a child early next year, according to media reports citing her close friends. The pair already have one child and are due to marry in December, which will bring to four the number of South Africa's First Ladies. Reports of the pregnancy comes only a fortnight after the arrival of Mr Zuma's 21st child, which was born to the second of his current wives. The boy, named Manqoba Kholwani which means "believe it", arrived amid claims that he could be the result of an affair between his mother and her bodyguard. The president has dismissed the claims as malicious rumours. Now aged 68, Zuma has faced repeated calls to live a quieter life and devote more of his energies to leading his country out of the griding poverty which confronts the majority of the population. Zuma's advisers insist that, as a proud Zulu, his culture permits him to have as many children as he wants with as many partners as he likes. However, the president was forced to make a humiliating apology earlier this year following the birth, out of wedlock, of his 20th child to the daughter of a family friend. While polygamy is accepted in South Africa, the spiralling cost to the taxpayer of Zuma's cultural observance has led to bitter clashes between the president's ruling African National Congress and the leading opposition party. News of yet another child and another marriage is bound to reignite the debate. Taxpayers are already spending more than R15.5m a year to support Zuma's current wives and some of his children. Generous friends are also known to help "sponsor" additional costs which do not have to be declared in public. The "presidential spousal budget", which had doubled in the space of a year, was condemned as "exorbitant" by the opposition leader, Helen Zille. This prompted a sharp riposte from the ANC which accused Zille of "cultural intolerance". The spousal office, which organises access to the president for his wives and fiancée, also pays for the women's personal support staff, such as secretaries and researchers, as well as domestic and international air travel and accommodation. Mobile phones for the consorts and their secretaries, laptops and printers and a special daily allowance for "incidental" expenses are also covered. "It is impossible for anyone, even on a president's salary, to look after a family of the size of Zuma's without relying extensively on private benefactors and the taxpayers' money," Zille said.Source: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/">www.telegraph.co.uk</a>

The country’s most famous polygamist, father for the 22nd time - pregnant fiancée, wife N0.6, bride-in-waiting! Taxpayers (“suckers”) to foot the bill

South Africa's polygamous president, Jacob Zuma, is to become a father for the 22nd time following news that his fiancée is pregnant. J...

11:10 AM

His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Bheki Cele VC, DSO, MC

<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447139998619647186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6lvJkRW_BVIcVXQ5f5gfd_OHr_zfG_wiC132ahxBpkEHMBERtoOYI94WQ9VvAUZQac3LND3rtq1FHlbgqcwACO2wKq61b5UP-b0Iv9HE2-pRLv4p9oQkvu8MYuSXeR0BmBr88K-vdRg32/s400/bheki-cele01.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 288px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /> Zimbabwe here we come... a militarisation of the state? a silent military coup? the junta/JOCs running the country? Is this 'army' preparing to protect the country or is it planning to "pull the strings" in the government of the country? Are Zuma's tight circle of "securocrats" masterminding a terror campaign to suppress the opposition to ensure Zuma does not step down in presidential elections, ever! AND/OR are they planning a military campaign against South Afica's minority people? General Bheki Cele of President Jacob Zuma's finest - While many might be tempted to say that the only time the word "general" should be used in connection with the South African Police is when it is prefacing the word "disaster", national police chief Bheki Cele is now insisting that henceforth he be addressed as such. Despite reservations that the police are militant enough apparently approval has now been obtained for them to use military rankings. This means that a constable is a private, inspector is now lieutenant, captain is still captain, superintendent is a major, senior supe a colonel, director a brigadier and commissioner a general. How this will assist in the fight against crime is anyone's guess. Cele advised Parliament's portfolio committee on police on Tuesday that he was "now called 'general" while, hilariously, they continued to refer to him as "commissioner". Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's spokesman Zweli Mnisi told Sapa that the military rankings for the police had been approved by Cabinet but that the public announcement hadn't been made yet because they were still finalising some of the details. He did however confirm that Cele could now be addressed as "general". Who knows if he plays his cards right the cabinet may approve a special rank of "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Bheki Cele VC, DSO, MC which has precedence elsewhere in Africa. Apparently the idea of changing to military ranks arose during President Jacob Zuma's address to police station commanders from across the country in Pretoria. The idea being that it would achieve the type of discipline the South African military are now famous for. Accordingly stand by for strikes and examples of the kind of military glory we witnessed against that world hyper power Lesotho. Perhaps a small clue might assist : If you want discipline among the ranks you need to show that it exists at the highest levels both in the police and among the politicians that are calling for it. Without that you might as well make Cele a Field Marshal right now. As this rank can only be bestowed during times of war we suggest it be done quickly before he attacks Lesotho.

His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Bheki Cele VC, DSO, MC

Zimbabwe here we come... a militarisation of the state? a silent military coup? the junta/JOCs running the country? Is this 'army' p...

1:25 PM

ANC Fiddles over Malema while South Africa Burns

<div align="left">By Michael Trapido President Jacob Zuma is going to have to draw a line in the sand and decide where loyalty ends and common sense begins in his, as well as the African National Congress', approach to the ANCYL and its president Julius Malema. </div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447116618899017186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdCoGHpoRS2QVj78NSAwbqVMDtHr84Rf9ips44v4mkm5l4d-tHk_8J4CyOLPIbFncd7FH5eEPy3GHo9s8bFfVN4UZMVCBwm3nCuSHK1f849UICybj0B_Y_OPmldrhHH6731AXraoh-MSj/s400/Dr+Evil.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 259px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 306px; CURSOR: hand" /> First there was Dr Evil and Mini Me.... And now the new .... <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447116627815046914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_nEj9v27lFfy2V-srG6_eBlHS_6XuRQsQ4LpFbwX1qcxanKblwLMigPsxaItoxndh-VW9BlypDqfCv14IvHoAclgcLq0TNZRUF4j7bWZbTkV2SIGfCMyewgF_Sd8yECDgGDMgAksheHw/s400/Dr+Evil+mini+me.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 311px; CURSOR: hand" /> After yesterday's racist tirade at the University of Johannesburg the ANC has yet to decide on whether or not to meet with its youth league president. Spokesman Ishmael Mnisi said on Wednesday that the party was always in touch with the league, but had not decided whether to talk to Malema about this particular matter. In layman's terms the ruling party that forms the government that is in charge of all South Africans can't decide whether racist attacks on certain of their citizens needs to be dealt with by them. Perhaps at the next election they may wish to clarify before the vote that if the ANC are elected as the next government then they see their role as strictly overseeing the needs and requirements of the ANC membership. This in turn will mean that the remaining 45 odd million South Africans are going to need a separate government to deal with their issues. Pursuant to a declaration along those lines the ANC will be more than welcome to focus on purely party matters from what will then be fewer seats than those currently held by the ID. In the meanwhile, as they are the government and ruling party in charge of all South Africans - while clearly in desperate need of a few tutorials on what distinguishes a constitutional democracy like South Africa from the anarchy that is Somalia - perhaps they might want to consider what the implications are going to be if everyone starts behaving like Malema and certain other leaders. He is after all a role model to the masses. If every interest group that goes to make up the aggregate of what we consider our masses starts calling for violence and resorts to name calling against the ANC or the government every time it feels so inclined what will be the response? As things stand you can't even scratch your ear with your middle finger if the President's convoy is passing by in case you get picked up, have a brown bag put over your head and interrogated to see that you aren't endangering our leader. Yet when the leader of one of the biggest groups in the country - the ANCYL - calls the leader of the opposition a Satanist and the head of the ID a woman that no normal man could marry the ANC can't work out whether to deal with it or not. The hypocrisy is overwhelming. When Malema called for white people to be shot and accused them of being rapists somewhere, somehow, someone surely asked the question of how much longer this is going to be allowed to carry on before it turns on those who don't deal with it. For example if, once again, other groups followed the youth league president's fine lead and called upon their followers to shoot other races would the government expect the police to have to go in and arrest them and if so how would they be able to distinguish it from Malema's case without arresting him? Or is Malema simply above the law? As we saw earlier today the police are changing to military ranks to try and instill discipline. That's nonsense. You fight corruption and crime by setting examples at the top and clamping down on slackness at the bottom. The same way that you ensure that a culture of lawlessness does not arise by giving example after example of leaders and politicians who disregard the rule of law as if it is some kind of irritant. A disregard which seems to permeate every level of our society. What is going to happen when South African society, using our leaders as their example, start disregarding the laws that they consider inappropriate to themselves? Is the government going to try another do as I say not as I do number? At that point in time the very system that maintains law and order will, as a result of their own conduct, become ineffective in dealing with the society that it is meant to regulate and the people who are responsible for undermining it by gross disregard, will be the ones calling out the military. In a country where so much anger exists over the perceived failure of service delivery coupled to a culture of violence that arises from way back when the last thing that anyone would expect is that those in charge of the country do anything to jeopardize a criminal justice system which they may well need in the not too distant future.

ANC Fiddles over Malema while South Africa Burns

By Michael Trapido President Jacob Zuma is going to have to draw a line in the sand and decide where loyalty ends and common sense begins in...

1:10 PM

It's Not OK Mr Zuma

FOLLOWING the promulgation of the regulations around the Indigenisation Act, there can be no illusions about how the international community will respond. This is another own goal of far-reaching significance. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6y8DjAJByNBTyifj2okItxfvayUvstpUKpFjQOM0fXCkBOS9Tyx9EPQ9psSykeR0mAryYI2Yl3GM1y090bIYm-V_9Axf98XrwF9KfsBJ8IFvYwCqiuMAfGH-kwmDeapoz-AnU0LiqHhD/s1600-h/zuma-mugabe.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445646575343217458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6y8DjAJByNBTyifj2okItxfvayUvstpUKpFjQOM0fXCkBOS9Tyx9EPQ9psSykeR0mAryYI2Yl3GM1y090bIYm-V_9Axf98XrwF9KfsBJ8IFvYwCqiuMAfGH-kwmDeapoz-AnU0LiqHhD/s400/zuma-mugabe.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 259px" /></a>President Mugabe and his followers appear to think they can pass this off as an attempt to promote an equitable business environment. In fact it will be seen as yet another self-serving move that empowers the already powerful and damages the economy as a whole. It is clientelism at its worst. Just like the so-called land reform programme, we shall see nationalisation of private assets by a greedy clique. Investors will want no part in this free-for-all. They will not want to be told that they must give up 51% of their ownership of a company they have worked hard to build over the years and be presented with a list of suitable "partners" who all turn out to be members of the same party. Prospective "partners" have reportedly already been descending on companies in Harare to check out new possibilities for plunder. Sadc's reaction will be instructive. Sadc's intervention was designed to rescue Zimbabwe from political havoc that would damage not only this country but prove contagious to the region. Sadc leaders gathered in Dar es Salaam were appalled by the pictures they saw of Morgan Tsvangirai after his "bashing", as President Mugabe suitably called it, threatening more. Zimbabwe was marching in the opposite direction from a region that was enjoying investment, stability and growth. Despite appearing to buy Zanu PF's phoney nationalist rhetoric, there was a clear understanding by regional leaders that Zimbabwe was scaring off investors and creating a zone of instability in their midst. The presidential run-off poll, they unanimously agreed in 2008, was anything but free and fair. That is why after the poll they persuaded Mugabe to enter into a political pact with Tsvangirai. That arrangement, the GNU, is now in trouble because Zanu PF leaders have undermined the whole basis of the exercise. By leaving hardliners in place and refusing to accept the need for root-and-branch reforms, Zimbabwe is doing exactly what its friends feared. But of all the clumsy attempts to block change, the promulgation of the regulations surrounding the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act are the most egregious. The former ruling party has by this move signalled its contempt for the GPA and for Tsvangirai as prime minister. Both the GPA and Constitutional Amendment 19 define the powers of the prime minister. Not only have Mugabe's supporters driven a coach and horses through these provisions and ridden roughshod over cabinet due-process, they have done precisely what Sadc sought to avoid -- threatened economic havoc and damaged the region's reputation. In the circumstances, getting Tsvangirai to lift sanctions is like sending him on a mission impossible. None of the countries imposing sanctions will be able to justify to their constituents a removal of measures when there has been no progress in the GNU talks. How else do we explain the ongoing land seizures; the torture of political prisoners; the arrest of journalists, one bearing a letter of introduction from Minister Walter Mzembi, the other doing his job as a cameraman; and the continuing abuse of the prime minister in the official press? US Congressional delegation leader Douglas Meeks described Mugabe as "a great man" after their meeting at State House last month. It is understood that compliments in diplomacy work better than brickbats. But he must be assuming that readers of the New York Times, which publishes in his constituency, are ignoring its stories on Zimbabwe. They are not. All the disgraceful details are there. Meeks and his fellow legislators will have difficulty securing a change of policy in the current situation. Barack Obama wasn't fooled into believing there has been progress. Tsvangirai's call for a relaxation of sanctions after Zanu PF unleashed youths into the city centre to threaten him will not have done much to sway opinion in the US and Europe! Tsvangirai, the bravest of the brave in 2007, is increasingly looking like a jelly that bears the impression of the last person to have sat on it. President Zuma in London this week will ask Gordon Brown to lift sanctions. But Brown is likely to ask what the GNU has achieved to warrant such a move? Does this include the hardliners at Zanu PF headquarters who mobilised the youths who threatened Tsvangirai last week? Media houses are still unable to launch new titles. The state media continues to be abused by 2008's losers to justify Mugabe's damaging policies. Meanwhile, Saviour Kasukuwere is threatening more damage. He evidently doesn't think he has done enough already. Like the AAG, he wants to reap where he did not sow elsewhere in the economy. And Jacob Zuma thinks all these things should be ignored; that the GNU negotiators should "park and proceed". How can he expect the MDC-T to park the glaring violations of Amendment 19 and the GPA where the PM's powers are unambiguously defined but now widely ignored by the old gang of ministers, permanent secretaries, and generals? If Zuma wants Zimbabweans to disregard the type of leadership that thinks it's OK to plunder productive farms and businesses, he might find the same disease spreading, like cholera, across the border.

It's Not OK Mr Zuma

FOLLOWING the promulgation of the regulations around the Indigenisation Act, there can be no illusions about how the international community...

1:27 PM

Protest against 'shameful' Zuma

SA president Jacob Zuma faces angry protest South African President Jacob Zuma has been met by protesters in London chanting "shame on you" on the last day of his state visit to Britain. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLOghhum7H8ssn6ccpApbfCkI3d1hIq1BWUZOtslwfqRtmKNRl1wiFQK9lO0gyQsk_ft4HWLN8QguJcy5TQ30Zbl5O4cas0NIlqw443JV7dIabQmwtenNQqJ8h1XeiZy3PH8AJMI_JcO9/s1600-h/zuma-save-zim.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGETl3GSxBZx8Kyowmzy1FzMAiWmyrBlTiJWYNriQXEcjlMkXGB3-05YSMaYbNjBU_JmUUxONCWEAil39CbCZJGf1Yw3IrZfV-wqkxaMMKb96UdTQcjlHuBdMuECNnPrjWe7866PSZuGbz/s1600-h/SAHouseLondonSmall.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445236380257475986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGETl3GSxBZx8Kyowmzy1FzMAiWmyrBlTiJWYNriQXEcjlMkXGB3-05YSMaYbNjBU_JmUUxONCWEAil39CbCZJGf1Yw3IrZfV-wqkxaMMKb96UdTQcjlHuBdMuECNnPrjWe7866PSZuGbz/s400/SAHouseLondonSmall.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 318px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" /></a>Earlier, the leader sparked anger over calls for international sanctions on Zimbabwe to be eased. About 50 people gathered outside the South African High Commission, waving banners saying "Zuma save Zimbabwe". In response, President Zuma walked up a red carpet at South Africa House before turning and waving to demonstrators. Earlier on Friday, he held talks with Prince Charles at Clarence House on climate change, youth opportunities and the built environment. 'Another wife' During his three-day state visit, the leader suggested sanctions should be eased to help Zimbabwe "move forward". But campaigners accused him of appeasing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and believe he should be doing more to ensure fresh elections are called in the country. Gordon Brown has said Zimbabwe must show progress in key areas including democratic reforms before sanctions are lifted. At the protest, one man wearing a Mugabe mask held aloft a sign saying "Zuma - have another wife on me". The 67-year-old leader is a polygamist - following a Zulu tradition - and has taken a third wife. Rose Benton, co-ordinator of a weekly demonstration outside the Zimbabwean embassy, said: "The government of national unity isn't going to work, Mugabe isn't serious about making it work - he never has been. "What we need is Zuma to do something, " she said. This has been the third state visit to Britain by a South African president since the advent of full democracy in 1994. Nelson Mandela came to the UK in 1996 and Thabo Mbeki in 2001. <a class="DL-external" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8552084.stm" jquery1267817262312="3" title="Read the full text of Protest against 'shameful' Zuma from BBC News">Full Article at BBC News</a> Related <a href="http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z2601767308&z=950245066">The Independent</a> Protesters challenge Jacob Zuma over Mugabe

Protest against 'shameful' Zuma

SA president Jacob Zuma faces angry protest South African President Jacob Zuma has been met by protesters in London chanting "shame on ...

10:37 AM

Chess set sure rooks familiar

SOUTH African president Jacob Zuma presented the Queen with a chess set yesterday - only to discover it was almost identical to a gift from Nelson Mandela. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444923570854599618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8RMBqs_TM4yVqdOIwukS5X3pIgfdI3KnKzLCHjOhrGdt4rG41FQrT1la7VztRqFEK7J6I3n0iQDhvVdwMT2ZMwW1ZiIM2Otqbo4ecAg5AfO4pNFFkwwofmDS30aMBT4YGj-Qd2R6QMyJ/s400/zuma-gift-to-queen.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 262px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />President Zuma, who is on a state visit, beamed with pride as he handed over his game board with glass and pewter warrior pieces. But then he looked across the room at Buckingham Palace and spotted the matching set with painted ceramic warrior figures. His predecessor Mr Mandela had given Prince Philip the game on a visit 14 years ago. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445239768806736386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zLJs5Ucu24kNYxg99SX-WLnQjCJn7pJxXkorpn7ATHVl6AZuIoXapFIUw9s39YkGud5xRbYMROSdcqtp04qmq3h818GCrmMwYxYGDHaInmSCll4utXf_B5YfhyjMp0siDZvnXP7r5x9I/s400/zuma-chess.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />A startled President Zuma said: "Oh, another set." The Queen then picked up some of the pieces to give him a closer look. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9k1lsb3Qh9GO9supMuUHPb_ZocQoheCa1Ur2Ef7_DT4DyrMV-WJ8b37zWJoG_ubmxBX2nXJyK4HLRPvVbbSKJuHbUCi1rq_xcwuKZhve-wfJBLeTmmaqjhjd1Pa_OggiHCYP4gO1ik8I/s1600-h/zuma-chess.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444922929468596130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9k1lsb3Qh9GO9supMuUHPb_ZocQoheCa1Ur2Ef7_DT4DyrMV-WJ8b37zWJoG_ubmxBX2nXJyK4HLRPvVbbSKJuHbUCi1rq_xcwuKZhve-wfJBLeTmmaqjhjd1Pa_OggiHCYP4gO1ik8I/s400/zuma-chess.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 289px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>The Queen and Jacob Zuma take a close look at the chess set he presented her - without realising it was the second one she had received Also there to meet the president were PM Gordon Brown, Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Home Secretary Alan Johnson. They were all smiles, despite Downing Street earlier declining to comment on reports President Zuma had accused the British of looking down on South Africans. The 67-year-old leader told a South African paper: "When the British came to our country they said everything we did was barbaric, was wrong, inferior. "And I don't know why they are continuing thinking their culture is more superior than others." The timing of the attack, on the eve of President Zuma's visit, is thought to have been sparked by criticism of his private life. President Zuma is wed to three women in a polygamous marriage. He has also claimed taking a shower after sex would protect him from Aids - and enjoyed supporters singing a campaign anthem entitled Bring Me My Machine Gun. <a href="mailto:j.clench@the-sun.co.uk">j.clench@the-sun.co.uk</a>

Chess set sure rooks familiar

SOUTH African president Jacob Zuma presented the Queen with a chess set yesterday - only to discover it was almost identical to a gift from ...

3:13 PM

The day polygamist president Jacob Zuma dined with the 'old fashioned imperialists'

As a polygamist who has fathered more than 20 children, both in and out of wedlock, he was always going to cause a stir on his inaugural state visit. Jacob Zuma added fuel to the fire yesterday by branding the British as old fashioned imperialists - only hours before he was officially greeted by the Queen.<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444895946845194514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zTmUf7_6k9ke0hIx80MRH0clW-59OCKLaM6vfAwOnirkDSPFbsni_h2yscjhlTNKlveNvVR2lXq3jzItXWpazB5LBz_Y7xUVGfFEgG5wM0q8AzldHH8OPV0l7cdiMOBTf8Ed-sFpwG_W/s400/zuma-royals.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 304px; CURSOR: hand" /> <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444900439145515394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiS_dzT30xBh4wmP35pai8wf84gCFu906_aTgeZV2w3L7PmVvj59PTHgvF4wPVoHs5ME4ijOA1sgJ-g3a9ZH-rCFQVaB8aduYi6SyMFTyHUD2KiqL3nP_Vn6Y6Omh-xKMs-jylOjveyl4/s400/zuma-queen-joke.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 288px; CURSOR: hand" />The South African president has apparently been angered by his host country's 'obsession' with his colourful life. It includes five wives, a love child with the daughter of one of his political allies, a criminal trial for the alleged rape of an HIV positive woman and corruption charges. In an interview yesterday, the 67-year-old politician, who was cleared of rape and fought off the corruption charges, insisted he had been unfairly portrayed and described himself as a 'freedom fighter' who was being attacked by 'colonial' bigots. 'When the British came to our country they said everything we did was barbaric, was wrong, inferior in whatever way,' he said. 'Bear in mind that I'm a freedom fighter and I fought to free myself, also for my culture to be respected. I don't know why they are continuing thinking that their culture is more superior than others, those who might have said so. I am very clear on these issues, I've not looked down upon any culture of anyone, and no one has been given an authority to judge others. 'The British have done that before, as they colonised us, and they continue to do this, and it's an unfortunate thing.' His spokesman insisted that the president's comments would have no bearing on his three-day trip, saying: 'Mr Zuma is in the UK for a wide ranging programme of substantial and serious issues. 'The comments he made were not aimed at the British public in general but at certain sections of the media which have lambasted him for what he considers to be his culture.'But his attack has caused intense diplomatic embarrassment - and wrecked his advisers' attempts to coach him about the finer points of royal etiquette.One aide admitted they had been studying a 'long list of dos and don'ts' for weeks. But when he met the Queen and Prince Philip, Mr Zuma appeared to be on his best behaviour. Alongside newly-elected Mr Zuma was his latest wife, Thobeka Madiba Zuma, 38, with whom he has a one-year-old daughter. He only married her in January. There had been much debate about which of his three current wives would accompany him on the trip (of the ex-wives, he divorced one while the second committed suicide). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JBvODQRN0nQu7x98FHUrlEo5aS2SV8fluxyIYq5YLTwZ6Msd2jcGuJpqN1HmE3xT1MVdHVAQU9thuAWoDYJKh3a60vlbsoSyiOgIyGfP9taTDVMnmvobHX1Guv4sAgaU_93uuenLob5f/s1600-h/zuma-gold.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444904205286418210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JBvODQRN0nQu7x98FHUrlEo5aS2SV8fluxyIYq5YLTwZ6Msd2jcGuJpqN1HmE3xT1MVdHVAQU9thuAWoDYJKh3a60vlbsoSyiOgIyGfP9taTDVMnmvobHX1Guv4sAgaU_93uuenLob5f/s400/zuma-gold.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 251px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgUbOzqCgylb9LpiIysZug3N3fYF9xbZYOtryD0wTmvxNtxQvFXVlHHDJ9auN4HkU1vwvNuqZbZzlLPjWn4XG7bQnAIbYhjM0NVLeImALQXNe9Aq9yqqSdG4eQXIrKHQRlYBHgR_6XtQw/s1600-h/zuma-wife-gold.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444894312383200674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgUbOzqCgylb9LpiIysZug3N3fYF9xbZYOtryD0wTmvxNtxQvFXVlHHDJ9auN4HkU1vwvNuqZbZzlLPjWn4XG7bQnAIbYhjM0NVLeImALQXNe9Aq9yqqSdG4eQXIrKHQRlYBHgR_6XtQw/s400/zuma-wife-gold.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 199px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Fortunately for palace staff, he settled on just the one and the couple have been allocated the Belgian Suite in the garden wing at Buckingham Palace. Former bank clerk Mrs Madiba Zuma, whose generously proportioned figure strained at the seams of her gold shot- silk suit, looked overwhelmed by her surroundings, barely uttering a word as she walked with the royal party. The couple were treated to a fullscale ceremonial welcome on Horseguards Parade, attended by dignitaries including Gordon Brown, who skipped Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons to attend the event. Mr Zuma greeted the royal party with an unusual double handshake before joining the Duke of Edinburgh to inspect a Guard of Honour. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444895951453486002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-teI74XGnTnTlQKx2u8cNffNNT_gfWJH9CKc5440Ug-r0Cakl3DhOXYaIlFegfHCHycGILVZtU84vItCmPtShYhyuF6092KCam4VV0_2ASeu2bVxXI4cq785LVLSrKqWjqD33UZ7dAH5/s400/zuma-double-handshake.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 269px; CURSOR: hand" /> Mr Brown's absence from Prime Minister's Questions provoked a row. Usually when a state event leads to a diary clash, the Commons confrontation is moved to the afternoon. But Mr Brown preferred to attend a children's champion awards event hosted by the News of the World yesterday afternoon. His spokesman said: 'It is always the case that the head of government is at the receiving ceremony for a visiting head of state.' <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444900443463010402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8KzuujZILrKpb9EL5uuM3SXXzF8-B8vLIyzs5pthqmW7YybAq4um_D0GCFcadz46w0_DAclPOw5p-kR0Dh5r8YVFuAB8jjN2rIZJf8KOobiYDxWcszt1RtGNNsR6ubzFKHEUULQCSeB98/s400/zuma-queen.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 295px; CURSOR: hand" />Yesterday afternoon, as Mr Zuma was given a tour of Buckingham Palace by his hosts, many of his 200 plus-strong entourage also seemed ignorant of royal protocol. While the men wandered around the palace wearing football-style scarves in the South African colours over their suits, the women chatted noisily on their mobile phones and used them to take pictures of the furnishings. Last night, Mr Zuma and his wife sat down to a glittering state banquet thrown at Buckingham Palace by the Queen in their honour. He took a far more tactful approach in his speech at the banquet than he had done in his earlier interview. He thanked the British people for their support in the struggle against apartheid and paid tribute to the strong ties between both countries.<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">http://www.dailymail.co.uk</a>

The day polygamist president Jacob Zuma dined with the 'old fashioned imperialists'

As a polygamist who has fathered more than 20 children, both in and out of wedlock, he was always going to cause a stir on his inaugural sta...

1:10 PM

Jacob Zuma is a sex-obsessed bigot with four wives and 35 children. So why is Britain fawning over this vile buffoon?

By Stephen Robinson on 02nd March 2010 <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444119095084985522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnsm0h0QTvuy5TgyIk85iKV-ld7ZAgVmkGOCj5wH9rx19avpV-EpB86n5_b8kxULW7aK_f7VT5jI82uyZqtFIDkVSWXGaFimZK70D-lfsRDpwLJEYomXX4TGVfeKFHl11UjUvtTQweAxK/s400/zapiro0203_517056d.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 282px; CURSOR: hand" />Spare a thought for the Buckingham Palace protocol officials tomorrow when His Excellency President Jacob Zuma arrives in London for his first state visit to these shores. For this incoming 'One hundred per cent Zulu Boy', as the South African President styles himself when he has an election to win, presents unique challenges of planning for the courtiers. The formal announcement of the state visit primly notes that the President will be accompanied during his three-day stay at Buckingham Palace by 'his wife Mrs Thobeka Madiba Zuma'. This is not untrue - but nor is it quite the whole truth. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444094403350338386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHAj0NIm0p2iXIukd3IxmoloOHlBAF39E-uaOV4tmW7x9CXqXMuAU3PFWMH1_vMqRQd5g-wGEsoGlz0NM1OHICB4fE_nrgJrxbQYSBafGTmedyGbhoX6C-qke3e0yTjZBp6QIbUmDSBsgs/s400/ZUMA-BUFFOON.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 328px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /> Buffoon: Jacob Zuma with one of his four wives Because Thobeka is just one of Mr Zuma's four living wives, not including one from Mozambique who committed suicide in 2000. She is also one of the estimated ten women with whom the libidinous Zuma has sired the 20 children he acknowledges to be his own. On top of that, Zuma has paid lobolo - a sort of tribal deposit on a future bride - to the families of at least two more potential wives. On a recent visit to South Africa, I was told very confidently by a man who knows the inner workings of the government that Zuma's true tally is actually 35 children, including a set of twins with a woman from Ukraine. One thing is clear. Jacob Zuma could not be more different from the man in whose long shadow he must walk - South Africa's great and first democratic leader, Nelson Mandela. But to go back to the hard-pressed Palace courtiers in charge of protocol, how can they prevent disaster in the diplomatic minefield of tomorrow night's state banquet? At these state dinners it is traditional to invite leaders of the 'arts community' to break up the stodgy ranks of diplomats and establishment bigwigs who tend to get the bulk of the invitations. But will theatrical greats such as Sir Ian McKellen be comfortable breaking bread with a man who has described same-sex marriage as 'a disgrace to the nation and to God', and who boasted that when he was a young man, any sensible homosexual would have got out of his way because: 'I would have knocked him out.' Will our bishops want to nibble canapes with a man who won the South African election last year by appearing at rallies and singing the old ANC guerilla war song: 'Bring Me My Machine Gun'? At the time, this was interpreted by many South Africans as a grotesque disavowal of Mandela's exhortation to his supporters to throw their weapons into the sea. And for that matter, would Harriet Harman, assiduously promoting her equality agenda as the General Election nears, wish to discuss gender issues with a man who, when charged with rape in 2005, protested in court that the alleged victim was wearing an extremely short skirt. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444094418998531922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6ggVu3-PnGx0mhyu3cMGdW1H2hoMqvjRTf2HzYW6rChwWxpUXNWec2tdsg4wR78FF4l5p-ewlZ-8l9CtvtjuovDkxu2PWvIyT0ATMJSC2p4mF79eitJMq1PwH2BwoiRwfLoq2S74J58i/s400/ZUMA-3-WIVES.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" /> Polygamous: Zuma with three of his wives - Sizakele, right, Nompumelo, left, and Thobeka 'In Zulu culture you cannot leave a woman if she is ready,' Zuma told the judge. 'To deny her sex would have been tantamount to rape.' Knowing that the woman he had imposed himself upon was HIV positive and that he had not used a condom, Zuma took a postcoital shower, believing that would protect him against the virus. The Foreign Office expects the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to submit themselves to an average of only two incoming state visits a year, so why was it thought necessary to honour Zuma in this way? It is not as though South African leaders have been strangers to Buckingham Palace in recent years. President Mandela came on a state visit two years after winning the first democratic election in 1994, and returned again 18 months ago during his 90th birthday celebrations. Thabo Mbeki, Zuma's predecessor as president, came over with his wife on a state visit in 2001. Which all means there was certainly no diplomatic need for Britain to mark Zuma's installation in power last year. During almost 60 years on the throne, the Queen has learned she broadly has to do what the Foreign Office tells her, so she throws open Buckingham Palace and pins medals on the chest of any murderous dictator the government wishes to suck up to. Zuma may not have matched the grotesque misrule of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who was welcomed to the Palace in 1994. But he tends to side with the mobs who have invaded the white-owned, productive farms rather than those who used to produce the country's food.'Europeans often ignore the fact that Mugabe is very popular among Africans. In their eyes, he has given blacks their country back after centuries of colonialism,' Zuma has said. 'The people love him, so how can we condemn him?' No wonder that affluent South Africans, black and white, are now so concerned by the course South Africa is taking under Zuma, and fearful they are on a trajectory towards becoming the continent's next basket case. It seems utterly misguided to have invited Zuma at a time when it is becoming ever more evident that South Africa is being turned into an organised kleptocracy. With timing that seems suspiciously fortunate given the looming state visit, the government this month announced a deal with British Aerospace to end investigations into whether bribes were paid in several recent contracts. This is fortunate for Zuma - he was deeply implicated in the bribes paid by European defence contractors, including British Aerospace, over a gigantic 1998 South African arms deal. Schabir Shaik, Zuma's personal financial adviser, was one of the few men to stand trial for corruption as Thabo Mbeki's government kicked over the traces of the arms deal and other corruption scandals. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444094409181389026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGfVVFk_FXgnFOWJprV9g_KXW8erZMUCJ3PAGCJiYlXxtKEVMvf9tJLxTDRL_OC_xkKR5Q-eV5-ZpbkfbCag7KC3_ZygIPHrWywyWvbswYTteYMW0DJn2FrOEeFeSGJDwEol9KbR2FhTi/s400/ZUMA-LONDON-VISIT.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 244px; CURSOR: hand" /> State visit: The flags of South Africa and Britain fly together on the Mall in London for Zuma's visit Shaik was convicted of making several illegal payments to Zuma, and in effect underwriting the cost of his substantial private home to accommodate his various wives and children.The truth is that corruption is now so prevalent that South Africans have lost their capacity to be shocked by it. But Zuma may not be forgiven for his flamboyant sex life. Having been acquitted of rape, then mobbed by jubilant supporters, Zuma believed he was beyond criticism. Yet he now finds himself in political difficulty after the recent revelation of the birth of the 20th acknowledged child, to a woman in Durban. This broke a deal he made with the party that even if he could not conquer his libido, he would at least behave with discretion, and stop impregnating casual sexual partners. Like the 19th-century missionaries who attempted to stamp it out, the ruling ANC party disapproves of polygamy, partly because it reinforces white men's stereotypes of Africans as somehow uncivilised. But Aids is the much more compelling explanation for why Zuma finds himself in trouble. With an HIV infection rate feared to be close to 30 per cent, and with South Africa's rural areas overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of Aids orphans, Zuma's manic promiscuity is setting a terrible example and has become a matter of grave public concern. The ANC was forced, in a formal statement, to acknowledge the level of public disquiet about Zuma's conduct. And there is now even talk at the highest level of the ANC that Zuma might not be allowed a second term as president. Since Thabo Mbeki (who had demented ideas about Aids) was forced from office, the government has made progress in changing the sexual attitudes of black South Africans. Zuma has blown a hole in this campaign for the sake of his nights of passion. No doubt the guests tomorrow night in London will be too polite to raise such delicate matters with the guest of honour. But millions of South Africans, viewing television images of the Zulu Boy at Buckingham Palace, will wonder why the Queen is honouring a man who back home is rapidly becoming a very bad joke. Source: - <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1254748/Jacob-Zuma-sex-obsessed-bigot--Britain-fawning-him.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1254748/Jacob-Zuma-sex-obsessed-bigot--Britain-fawning-him.html</a>

Jacob Zuma is a sex-obsessed bigot with four wives and 35 children. So why is Britain fawning over this vile buffoon?

By Stephen Robinson on 02nd March 2010 Spare a thought for the Buckingham Palace protocol officials tomorrow when His Excellency President J...

9:23 AM

Zuma and his family bankrolled by "friends"

President Jacob Zuma faces a grilling in parliament in coming weeks over disclosures that two Durban businessmen bankroll one of his wives' luxury lifestyles. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbG_IZndXpho39iglBoLiopfrazyJHUZYrFptP8o-CSya6WiJ0mgcCUMUDTX_DfLnOaApQqXW1vr4LFgMscgJHZA-tJf9WtnSKjPb8BVwQneXFkL902a4_yb084KlVZ-MorRkd6mFeI9n/s1600-h/zuma_camp01.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443314418641586194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbG_IZndXpho39iglBoLiopfrazyJHUZYrFptP8o-CSya6WiJ0mgcCUMUDTX_DfLnOaApQqXW1vr4LFgMscgJHZA-tJf9WtnSKjPb8BVwQneXFkL902a4_yb084KlVZ-MorRkd6mFeI9n/s400/zuma_camp01.bmp" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 248px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 359px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Opposition parties will use questions in parliament to try to get clarity from the head of state as to why businessmen who have backed him over the years are now picking up the tab for the eight-bedroom house in Durban's plush Morningside suburb in which his fourth wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, lives rent-free. Both the ID and the DA also want full disclosure about whether the two or other businessmen are covering the expenses of any of his other wives. Controversial Durban businessman and alleged former NIA operative Erwin Ullbricht and multimillionaire Abdul Rahim Malek have been jointly picking up the tab for Ntuli-Zuma's home since late 2005. Company records reveal business links between Ullbricht and Zuma's son Mxolisi Saady Zuma, one of five children from his second wife, Kate. This week Ullbricht confirmed he had paid for Ntuli's expenses out of "love" for Zuma and did not expect anything in return. Parliament's register of members' interests lists Ullbricht as paying for a lavish party for Zuma several years ago. The 34-year-old denied receiving any government work and said nobody could compare his footing of Ntuli's bills to Schabir Shaik's corrupt relationship with Zuma, which led to Shaik being jailed. Ullbricht is listed as a director of four companies, two of which he co-directs with Mxolisi Zuma. These entities, Gedle Construction cc and Gedle Events cc, were registered in 2006. Ullbricht said the companies he set up with Zuma's son had "never traded". The Morningside house, which Malek bought in 1996 for R825000, has been occupied rent-free by Ntuli-Zuma since late 2005. The company through which Ntuli-Zuma's lease is facilitated, Nxamalala Investments, is not registered. However, the house is registered in the name of Howard Love Trust and Investment Company (Pty) Ltd, of which Malek is a listed director. Ullbricht - who was raided by the Scorpions in 2005 in connection with Zuma's then corruption case - said he "facilitated" Ntuli-Zuma's rental of the house, near the presidential residence, King's House, and Shaik's home shortly after Zuma was fired as deputy president in 2005. As president, Zuma has access to several state residences, as well as his Nkandla home - which is being upgraded at taxpayers' cost - and a salary of R2.245-million a year. This week it was reported that lawyers representing Malek had written to Ullbricht giving Ntuli-Zuma - who runs several businesses - until March 31 to move out since the home had been sold. However, on Friday, Ullbricht said the notice had been withdrawn by Malek and that Ntuli-Zuma would continue living there with her two children and other relatives of Zuma. Asked why he was bankrolling one of the first ladies when she had business interests of her own, Ullbricht said: "I have no knowledge of any businesses interests on her part ... That has nothing to do with me. " Malek said he had provided the house for Ntuli-Zuma for five years in support of the president because he was being sidelined by the ANC leadership at the time after being dismissed from government. "He is a good man who is doing something for the poor. He is the poor man's friend," said Malek. He added that he had "absolutely" no business relationship with the government. DA leader Helen Zille said: "It is really important to know who, if anyone, is bankrolling the president and his family." Zille said the DA parliamentary contingent would raise questions in parliament around the benefits from Ullbricht and Malek. She added that the DA would also check whether any of Zuma's other wives were being paid for by third parties. About Erwin Ullbricht Young Ullbricht calls himself Zuma's "adopted" son, and always lurks in the background whenever Zuma appears at public events. He regards Zuma as a mentor and says he has a direct line to the ANC president. He is often seen on the fringes of Zuma functions, talking on his cellphone. Described in media reports as a wealthy businessman who bankrolls Zuma, Ullbricht has no discernable business empire, but says he spent about R60 000 on a bash for Zuma's 62nd birthday and apparently partly organised Zuma's 65th birthday celebrations. He is from Treasure Beach, a working-class suburb in Durban. Ullbricht once worked for Vivian Reddy, marketing his Newcastle casino. Ullbricht's home was raided by the Scorpions in connection with documents relating to Zuma and he was investigated in connection with a curious plot reported in the Durban media as an attempt to assassinate KZN Judge President Vuka Tshabalala.

Zuma and his family bankrolled by "friends"

President Jacob Zuma faces a grilling in parliament in coming weeks over disclosures that two Durban businessmen bankroll one of his wives...

6:50 AM

Where the hell are we going?

<div align="left">Meltdown the inevitable result of ANC policies Dr. David Klatzow <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRScjp1Iun1DIAtY9_HcWiil3HYzt7ggrkuaRzbHEqAaRsQ8vvc8zc7ic-or6dNBcxI5oSWSRwKLjdjgIQoJoU2SDYPZDHqplJ4LDCgNnPYPIlBTVLbalAg-imAGVg1NR4_N8EbA7qc1P/s1600-h/ancpastsellbydate.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQfkBLXJkBbkXPK8kSRR3vR7AceIGTQ7-0PQElUsne1WW3iXhFsFyr_7dHsguUz0AysyrtAbzny3eGz-MlOqKNAx0NqH1eJWfy8MN8qo69bBDWw17MIDPI9mQvNwg6hMmrdXOl_IrNoI1/s1600-h/ancpastsellbydate.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443727198134663122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQfkBLXJkBbkXPK8kSRR3vR7AceIGTQ7-0PQElUsne1WW3iXhFsFyr_7dHsguUz0AysyrtAbzny3eGz-MlOqKNAx0NqH1eJWfy8MN8qo69bBDWw17MIDPI9mQvNwg6hMmrdXOl_IrNoI1/s320/ancpastsellbydate.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 263px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The ANC led alliance came to power with many stated and lofty ideals. They flowed from the American rhetoric of such greats as Martin Luther King. “An injury to one is an injury to all”; “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere”. </div>Our government, post Madiba, has been slow to give reality to these lofty ideals. Mbeki (Mr. Delivery) turned out to be Mr. Non-Delivery. All functionaries in government were replaced by loyal party cadres. Everything became ideology driven instead of ability driven. Government interference in the universities has become much more overt and destructive than ever it was under the Nationalists. (Exemplified by the turnabout on the honorary doctorate for Thabo Mbeki). Our health system was functional to a high level, even for rural black and the urban “non-European” hospitals, whilst an abominable reflection of the apartheid system, worked well with standards high and no shortage of drugs and equipment. Now in 2010, we contemplate exactly what has been achieved in the 15 years of post Apartheid South Africa. A previous vice-Chancellor of UCT, Ramphele Mamphela, is on record as saying that Bantu Education was better than the mess we have now. Our hospitals are dysfunctional for all South Africans who are unable to afford private health care. The Johannesburg General, Groote Schuur, Pretoria Hospital and many others around the country are mismanaged to such an extent that they have become a threat to health. The hospital accounting systems are in a shambles and suppliers have cut off supplies until their bills are paid. The standards of repair and cleanliness have plummeted. The equipment, supplies and linen have been pillaged and pilfered. Recently at Groote Schuur I encountered a Neurology ward that had no toilet seats, no toilet paper, no soap and no towels. The chief neurologist there informed me that he would not use the toilets on his ward because they were too disgusting. The legacy of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang speaks for itself. Our police service is severely dysfunctional. Too many of the serving officers are corrupt. A recent PhD Thesis on the subject put it as 10% and probably higher. Out erstwhile chief cop, Jackie Selebi, stands accused of corruption whilst he was head of Interpol moreover. This is a national disgrace. The arrogance of the man to run around with the likes of the criminal gangsters that he associated with and not see the conflict of interests is astounding to say the least. The government, who should be doing all in their power to prosecute Selebi to the full, are wasting taxpayers’ money trying to keep certain witnesses out of court on the spurious basis of national interest. Our education system is a complete mess. We have the results of the OBE debacle to contend with where the only certainty is that we will produce a generation of educationally crippled youth. We have the ANC government with its ludicrous policies of “quiet diplomacy” which have allowed the stability of the region to deteriorate .The influx of refugees across our borders is fuelling xenophobic violence and is placing scarce resources under huge pressure. Our water supplies are dwindling and those that we have are polluted with faecal matter from the squatter camps along their courses. Cholera is waiting. Much of the water measuring equipment installed at key points on our rivers has been vandalized. The Cape Times (8/2/10) informs me that ‘DIRE SHORTAGE AT FORENSIC LABS STIFLES JUSTICE” What do you expect? In my private capacity as a consulting forensic scientist, I have been warning about this state of affairs for some years. Approximately 4 years ago I warned of the coming ”Melt Down”. To no avail. The analysts in the Health Department labs are appointed in terms of ethnicity and ideology and not in terms of their ability to do the work. When a previous head of the Laboratory in Pretoria, (Dr Viljoen), attempted to set an examination to regulate the incoming analysts he found that he was expected to appoint people who scored single figure results for the elementary chemistry examinations. The labs are swamped with incompetents and the work does not get done The net result was that he and the other heads of the laboratories have all left the state employ and are lost to the system. Their expertise is not even available to assist the state in pulling itself up by its bootstraps. At present there are nearly 5000 samples from the Salt River Mortuary which have not been analyzed. The talk is that they will be discarded. So much for justice. The departmental heads are not called to account for this disaster. Our courts have, for some time now, been grinding ever more to a halt because of the incompetence and disorganization of the laboratories that should be there to assist them. Morale at the police laboratories is low and the good scientists who are still there would leave if any other opportunities cross their path. Recently I became aware of a delay of 3 years in obtaining a post mortem report from the Tygerberg forensic department. This is just not good enough. I have not yet started on the disaster that is coming our way when the productive farms are taken and given to persons who cannot even use them for a proper subsistence, let alone a high technology productive farm to feed South Africa. There is only one way to stop the rot before it destroys the entire country. The government must stop the insane racist and aggressively affirmative policies that it has put in place. Corruption should be rooted out tooth and nail. All the available talent should be used in getting this country back on track. Stop the centralist interference in every aspect of our lives. It is not for the government to decide as to whether I may open a medical practice where so ever I wish. All that will happen is that the available source of doctors will dwindle as they head for greener pastures. The collective that have brought us to this pass will be blissfully prepared to blame it on the racist government. They are right there about the racism but it is their own racist policies that have brought us to the brink and not those of the previous dispensation. Education and security must take priority in government policies and non-performing ANC appointees should be kicked out forthwith. The business of suspension on full pay is an inducement to under-perform. Zuma is a national embarrassment is so many ways that it would be impossible to list them in the limited space at my disposal. However, his exuberant fecundity is the least of the issues. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7v4V13oy0cq-oN9IGpLjaEKqkVSDVi8TOSlXQuJILr0jpIl37sXLfeL4RmpNGK7GRtll_Mueeah5mXbGqfIKwCZlMNY1eWIg7Pn3mJanXguaabdqPibRtgIdTlpF3QLL5AdGqh2sw_IJl/s1600-h/zumatoilet.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IxMahEzLHBiJ3oC3YfdFOOzDvy4ZI84e_cPlx4sXny_PYR2IqEj_f4tDuKZgAZDJPPqowFyEVO2HIdvVTlG0pUS1UuBqONQWAKH-79bg7tIcr9QNZqDvEz8kt6PoYv4P0iEyeRCiRj6T/s1600-h/zumastink.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441504303299291330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IxMahEzLHBiJ3oC3YfdFOOzDvy4ZI84e_cPlx4sXny_PYR2IqEj_f4tDuKZgAZDJPPqowFyEVO2HIdvVTlG0pUS1UuBqONQWAKH-79bg7tIcr9QNZqDvEz8kt6PoYv4P0iEyeRCiRj6T/s400/zumastink.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>My primary problem with Zuma is his lack of appreciation for anything other than immediate gratification without appreciation for the consequences. He says what he feels the audience wants to hear, without a jot of sincerity or any intention to perform. The appointment of Jon Qwelane as ambassador to Uganda sends the wrong message. Why send an openly homophobic man to a country where this lately achieved tolerance is under severe threat? Why appoint Menzi Simelani to his present position? The man is constitutionally and experientially unsuited to the job and in any event it kicks the notion of separation of power (enshrined in our constitution) in the teeth. One is left with the only rational conclusion that Zuma wants a pal who will not come after him in the little matter of corruption that seems to follow him like a black cloud. For a man who publicly demanded his day in court, he has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid it. The disgraceful release on parole of Shaik is a slap in the face to our already foundering justice system. The only sense in which he was dying, was he was dying to get out and shop. Shame on you! It is high time, Mr Zuma, that you stop your philandering long enough to see that your party is systematically destroying this country. As a group, the ANC hierarchy is as racist and as corrupt as the Nationalists. History will judge you harshly. And by the way, we do not need aircraft (that nobody can fly) and corvettes to sit and rust in Simon’s Town, above education, policing and health. Maybe I could leave you as I started with two quotes from Martin Luther King: “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”. And finally, ”A riot is at the bottom, the language of the unheard”. Dr Klatzow is an independent forensic consultant.

Where the hell are we going?

Meltdown the inevitable result of ANC policies Dr. David Klatzow T he ANC led alliance came to power with many stated and lofty ideals. The...

9:44 AM

Getting to know the real Jacob Zuma

The latest controversy surrounding President Jacob Zuma illustrates a consistent thread running through his presidency: power abuse. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HJrO_kjBJOnHNw1RrbD57iypM1sCZfvRMbP2_4T-1KhguMzJ72I5QSEwSKpvsMiaIxE4cJDzC7Kc8Q6H1cPICwCwgE3_kisOGm57rh9LYbVIqTzyAQEWHrW720grXqpX-aR7nR3x6_0/s1600-h/ancposter5475.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439733198991668434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HJrO_kjBJOnHNw1RrbD57iypM1sCZfvRMbP2_4T-1KhguMzJ72I5QSEwSKpvsMiaIxE4cJDzC7Kc8Q6H1cPICwCwgE3_kisOGm57rh9LYbVIqTzyAQEWHrW720grXqpX-aR7nR3x6_0/s400/ancposter5475.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 291px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>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

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 b...

3:31 PM

Open letter to Mr President from Evita Bezuidenhout

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAZBS7jA7iNSONY7Hcox2gnucVRDUp6fOLcp0HBqM8ARBYu7Eue9jxF_sXuK-XukkMtdhjkFrjxkQEj37y2Bi0aCsYVijpxQ0sQFSFjWIA1nWjw7nBMt-Bjuah4lV9JOigM9qI6P2N5FM/s1600-h/ZUMA-20-KIDS.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440430735425791954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAZBS7jA7iNSONY7Hcox2gnucVRDUp6fOLcp0HBqM8ARBYu7Eue9jxF_sXuK-XukkMtdhjkFrjxkQEj37y2Bi0aCsYVijpxQ0sQFSFjWIA1nWjw7nBMt-Bjuah4lV9JOigM9qI6P2N5FM/s400/ZUMA-20-KIDS.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Dear President Zuma, I won’t address you as Father of the Nation because I know you don’t like formalities. I treasure your allowing me to still call you by your Zulu name, Innocent. For all the years we have passed each other in the passages of power you have always treated me with great respect. Granted, I’ve never been alone in a room with you for more than a minute. People have come to me in the past few days and said, “Evita, talk to him. Make him realise he is not just a song-and-dance man.” Of course you’re not. You were a major player in the Struggle against apartheid, and let the world now know that you have been responsible for extraordinary things during the past 30 years. But nothing as extraordinary as your personal collection of beautiful wives. Liewe aarde, Innocent, what competition are you trying to win here? How is it possible that a man who is so involved in politics as president of a young democracy that needs as much supervision as a 16-year-old delinquent child finds so much time to share with not just one wife but three? At what time of day can you get to your office if there are so many wives to kiss goodbye in the morning? And you have to be fair and kiss them all, other¬wise we will sit with a never-ending television series called Desperate First Ladies! But then, when you should be addressing the problems of poverty, xenophobia, Zimbabwe, presidential pardons - to mention but a few - you spend those moments creating more Zumettes. They say already 20 children from your own loins, and maybe we can add one or two for those slipped out without you noticing ? Maggies man, carry on like that and you will have your own football teams to win the cup for South Africa in 2018 ! Innocent, I like you. I even respect you. I want you to be the best president we've had since Nelson Mandela decided to hand over the reigns to someone else. There is no reason for you to fail. You came to power as our third democratically elected leader in spite of a nightmare audition; months of court actions and trials, miles of media blah blah reporting every rumour and gossip. Freedom of speech is sacred in our land and while some of the media went too far and showered you with accusations, don't they have the right ? Is that why today you protect freedom of speech but want terms and conditions to apply ? You have apologised. I am a bit older than you and yet you make me feel like a school girl at your feet. You smile at me. You laugh at my words. You sing for me and you dance around me. It is captivating. You start to sing. You move into a dance. And when all that is over, the media have forgotten the question. Of course I have a lot to say but I don't, because I as a white woman have an opinion about the foibles of your government I am called racist and told to shut up or emigrate. Well, I won't do either ! I will build up enough courage to write you this letter, because it's time we stood up and spoke. Not as whites, not as men and women, but as citizens of a magical country that was given a second chance to make it's dreams come true. I see some leaders pooh pooh FW de Klerk's celebration of his legendary speech of 2nd February 1990 which lead to the freeing of Nelson Mandela and the unbanning of the ANC and SA Communist party (SACP) and other minor irritations. They say it happened only as a result of the Struggle. My skat, the last thing anyone expected was to be handed the nightmare of a bankrupt blood-soaked South Africa. We gave it to you and now it's yours, Innocent. I'm on your side Msholozi, If I may use your clan name, I have no problem with your cultural, traditional weapons of marriage. All your ZuMamas are a joy to behold. I remember seeing them at the opening of parliament last year, when you made your first state-of-the-nation address as president. They were all asleep in the gallery. Thanks to that we know that there are no power hungry Hillary Clintons among them, no overambitious Winnies or scheming Lady Macbeths. I have no problem with you. I have a problem with what the people see in you. My son De Kock, does aids awareness talks at schools. Recently he was at a school in Soweto, demonstrating safe sex through the use of condoms. After the talk a group of senior learners approached him. They liked his presentation. "But must you go on about condoms ? We know," said one. De Kock said he was pleased that they were informed but there were many others that needed the information. "Why?" asked the other young man "We don't need condoms. We have a shower" De Kock laughed loudly, as we all would. There was no smiles on the faces of the young men. "Why do you laugh?" the one asked angrily. "Well" said De Kock, "you refer to Jacob Zuma having a shower after unprotected sex." "So ? what's funny ? Are you calling our president a liar ?" De Kock realised there was no joke here. "Jacob Zuma is our president, We follow by example," was their parting statement. Innocent, you lead by example, like it or not ! If there is one thing you need to impregnate it is our country. Give us the benefit of your strength, your humour, your wisdom, your compassion and your focus. We need you. You might say, "Why must I listen to Evita Bezuidenhout ?" Well if you listen to Julius Malema, I too have a right to your ear. And I passed woodwork at school with a B+. So, vuk'uzenzele, M-shower-lozi ! Practice what you preach and, please, put your love in a plastic bag. Sincerely, Evita Bezuidenhout From Evita Bezuidenhout a popular SA political playwright.

Open letter to Mr President from Evita Bezuidenhout

Dear President Zuma, I won’t address you as Father of the Nation because I know you don’t like formalities. I treasure your allowing me to s...

2:54 PM

Zuma ready to run the Valentine's Day gauntlet

Sources close to Jacob Zuma say that the president is more "apprehensive" of the fast-approaching St Valentine’s Day than he is of the opening of parliament and his upcoming State Of The Nation address. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXAPGyqtE03GL-1I24dZnyIkTnmYnJBGgAeHlLf95yu8ET6_1C1988TwAUVtJQ-dLr8mfFjWUh6zWq_nW4zegYWFaRCHnmkd7ZfYXG2TmsgjesUjkSypwJiEQS8cE-qqXYRK1rQf0KIaP/s1600-h/valentines-day.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436787031709702898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXAPGyqtE03GL-1I24dZnyIkTnmYnJBGgAeHlLf95yu8ET6_1C1988TwAUVtJQ-dLr8mfFjWUh6zWq_nW4zegYWFaRCHnmkd7ZfYXG2TmsgjesUjkSypwJiEQS8cE-qqXYRK1rQf0KIaP/s320/valentines-day.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></a>The evening, in which the president is obliged to meet up with and pay attention to all his various wives, fiancées, lovers, partners, mistresses, sweethearts, girlfriends, paramours, consorts, and significant others, is said to be the most gruelling event of the president's year. Presidential Wingman Sizwe “Slick” Kaleni has reported that the President has been losing sleep over the upcoming ordeal. "He wakes up in a cold sweat," Kaleni stated during a press briefing. "Even the seven or eight women he uses as blankets don’t calm him down. If anything, knowing that he’s going to have to spend a romantic evening with each of them individually just makes it worse." A medical team was called to the president’s house earlier this week to treat him for stress and deliver a crate of Hefner-grade viagra. A special planning committee, headed by Kaleni, has been convened to help the president through this difficult time. "This is a political minefield," Kaleni stated. "Working out how much he has to spend with each woman, where he met them, what promises he made, and which ones can't know about which other ones, is overwhelmingly difficult. "Remembering all their names is hard enough," he added. A team of researchers and speechwriters has spent the last three months briefing the president on appropriate talking points and sweet nothings. Other duties of the committee include organising several shipping-containers full of roses, and finding and booking more than a dozen intimate restaurants within easy driving distance of each other. Despite the months of careful planning, Kaleni says that the evening will still be a political gauntlet. "So many things could go wrong for him. Forgetting a name, not noticing a new dress, sleeping with the waitress. Any of these could ruin the evening." "At least it’s not Christmas," said Kaleni, "when he has to get presents for all of his children. When we got that wrong two years ago, the world economy collapsed." hayibo.com

Zuma ready to run the Valentine's Day gauntlet

Sources close to Jacob Zuma say that the president is more "apprehensive" of the fast-approaching St Valentine’s Day than he is of...

3:37 PM

Zapiro brings back the shower head

<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEM3aKspXjHyGQ7us4qToym-eC4pBQqpnuivTTyTfyiJnywxQIF0Z0WwomGuyWJunTgjsMPIaX4BOF3juGi4Umva7KcsHUsVHT0cAcuxX3qUZaUds6x4Vz4csuqveJ9vdqKk9R61sfqZIk/s1600-h/zuma-baby-shower-zapiro-49.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435984165981566082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEM3aKspXjHyGQ7us4qToym-eC4pBQqpnuivTTyTfyiJnywxQIF0Z0WwomGuyWJunTgjsMPIaX4BOF3juGi4Umva7KcsHUsVHT0cAcuxX3qUZaUds6x4Vz4csuqveJ9vdqKk9R61sfqZIk/s400/zuma-baby-shower-zapiro-49.gif" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 289px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a>The latest Zapiro "Zuma baby shower" cartoon in this week's Mail & Guardian has been making waves on Twitter and elsewhere.</div> With criticism intensifying around President Jacob Zuma's sexual behaviour, political cartoonist Zapiro has brought back the Zuma showerhead. He said it was difficult to give Zuma a break. The cartoonist's latest drawing depicts a larger-than-ever shower firmly affixed to the president's head while delivering the State of the Nation address. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436282369194607426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyyldNeQT4SsmynnY1B_dsYs_UoUxZNB_JMWVhJiy97-AjlCJzsszFLhsWL9zQqJ3BSrRF1Rsrx1zkFs5SXTt4eVqvPlXEuzAW_hKv5XEgZ-Ue7qiME64LkrYcWCKBWUn9ZSB4C8YPg0f/s400/zapiro-new_459658d.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 280px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Zapiro first used the shower image in 2006 after Zuma said he took a shower to protect himself from contracting HIV after having unprotected sex. The cartoonist temporarily detached the shower from Zuma last year, as a sign of giving the president a chance. Zapiro said Zuma's latest antics proved what most South Africans though about their president. "All sorts of people tried to give him a break. I lifted the shower off his head according to how well or badly I thought he was doing. More people are criticising, even from within his own ranks. It is obviously an opportunity for me to play around with the shower," said Zapiro. Zapiro said Zuma should be embarrassed to address the nation on Thursday. "He has so many children and so many scandals that follow him. It was bound to co-incide with something and as it happens it co-incides with the speech and if I were him I would be so embarrassed getting up in front of the nation," said Zapiro.

Zapiro brings back the shower head

The latest Zapiro "Zuma baby shower" cartoon in this week's Mail & Guardian has been making waves on Twitter and elsewhere...

12:56 PM

Zuma has once again proved the ANC wrong

The ANC will rue the day they decided - against all logic - that Jacob Zuma shall be president of the country. Today the man is seen by many as nothing more than an object of comic relief. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2bZX6Ak12JYFzwntwFV2AOZ8Fn1yPlR2ltmiexPhJl5xRSaZtToMg3UbKE1L7nyVITBtu-CmWknoM9c_5EGlVpYiNec6Bb0mlpt-LFk40yQDAdcp9_uobqdvrXYKo4uME4XJ5FTQyDR4/s1600-h/zuma-samecircus.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435255198177852402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2bZX6Ak12JYFzwntwFV2AOZ8Fn1yPlR2ltmiexPhJl5xRSaZtToMg3UbKE1L7nyVITBtu-CmWknoM9c_5EGlVpYiNec6Bb0mlpt-LFk40yQDAdcp9_uobqdvrXYKo4uME4XJ5FTQyDR4/s400/zuma-samecircus.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 284px" /></a>No wonder journalists in Davos, Switzerland, could not resist the urge to use him to entertain themselves. Luckily for Zuma, while South Africans wallow in embarrassment and shame, he appears very much at ease with his "culture-induced" indiscretions. His affable and warm personality aside, Zuma's shortcomings are just so glaring that in a normal country he would not be allowed a look-in at the presidential palace. Ironically, the ANC faction that brought Zuma to power made the same mistake as Thabo Mbeki, who foolishly wanted to prove mainstream medical scientists wrong with his crackpot Aids denialist theories. Through Zuma the ANC wanted to prove to the world that an uneducated man from a humble rural background could lead a modern state to prosperity. Needless to say, this grandiosely romanticised project has backfired spectacularly. Zuma's latest gaffe makes for intriguing times in the faction-riddled ANC. No doubt Zuma's handlers in Cosatu and the SACP must be very worried. They will now find it difficult to bulldoze other factions within the ANC-led alliance to accept a second term for Zuma as fait accompli. In fact, it is not inconceivable that other factions will be emboldened by this "love child" saga to find their voice and even agitate for Zuma's "recall". After all, a precedent has been set. However, the very prospect of Zuma's recall will have its own repercussions. Zuma's liaisons with convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik tell us that he is not unfamiliar with the notion of corruption. Lest we forget, the man went to extraordinary lengths to avoid his own day in court. Now that it is almost certain that a second term is out of question, Msholozi might need to make the proverbial hay while the sun is still shining.

Zuma has once again proved the ANC wrong

The ANC will rue the day they decided - against all logic - that Jacob Zuma shall be president of the country. Today the man is seen by many...

11:52 AM

Have you no shame Mr. Zuma?

A proud, young South African writes to President Jacob Zuma Dear Mr Zuma<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfcttvcbPiDFaS8xMutyHn2QrAKanDNmqZ8jZhIvAkrTrLh4Vj7RnNRAPt8tat93NEpf3_cRziiMnXzAI4Kke-07UubCMO6kQOo3Zg4IiZYriukjofte4F84YTrVrnB-9j3uVgwhRH64C/s1600-h/zumastink.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435263478877266402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfcttvcbPiDFaS8xMutyHn2QrAKanDNmqZ8jZhIvAkrTrLh4Vj7RnNRAPt8tat93NEpf3_cRziiMnXzAI4Kke-07UubCMO6kQOo3Zg4IiZYriukjofte4F84YTrVrnB-9j3uVgwhRH64C/s400/zumastink.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a> 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?.

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 fat...

11:33 AM

South Africa P.I.G.