The Controversial Political Life Of Jacob Zuma

Oliver Tambo entrusted him and former President Thabo Mbeki with the complex and delicate task of negotiating with the apartheid government in the ‘80s. Zuma also served as deputy secretary-general of the party after its unbanning in 1990. The current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was the secretary-general.

The former president has served in every administration since the dawn of democracy. But it was his ascent to the political forefront that signaled a shift in the public persona of a man who had, until that fateful day in 2005 when he was fired, presumably been happy working in the background. The reason for his expulsion by Mbeki, the then-president, was because he was implicated in a court case against his financial advisor, Schabir Shaik, who went on to be sentenced on charges of fraud and corruption.

”I accept and respect [Mbeki’s] pronouncement. I believe he has taken this decision not because he believes I am guilty of any crime but because of considerations relating to the constraints within which the government operates,” Zuma said after being relieved of his duties. He maintained his innocence, and stated that he only resigned as an MP to “make it easier for the ANC and the government to function in Parliament.” He, however, remained deputy president of the party.

In December of the same year, Zuma was officially charged with the rape of a prominent HIV/AIDS activist. The turn of events led to rifts developing within the ANC, with the pro-Zuma camp maintaining that the charges have been part of a smear campaign against their beloved leader. He became president in 2009, and reigned over one of the most unstable governments in post-apartheid South Africa.

Below are but five of the significant events that have led to Zuma’s current position.

‘Remember Khwezi’

Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo is a name that raises heads in women’s rights circles and civil society at large. Kuzwayo was an HIV/AIDS activist, and the daughter of Judson Khuzwayo, a chief representative of the ANC in Zimbabwe who had been imprisoned with Zuma. In November 2005, she alleged that Zuma raped her. The case went to trial in March 2006, and the matter was dismissed in May of the same year. Zuma pleaded not guilty, and remained steadfast in his claim that the sex was consensual. Many issues came up during the trial, including the cross-examination suffered by Khuzwayo at the hands of the courts and Zuma’s submission in court that he took a shower after the act because it would reduce his chances of contracting HIV.

A pool of fire in Nkandla

Zuma’s Nkandla residence came under scrutiny when it emerged that there had been financial irregularities. The most controversial aspect of the whole deal was the “fire pool,” which authorities claimed could double as a source of water for firefighters in the case that the residence was to be engulfed in flames. The public immediately called their bluff, and condemned the unnecessary expenditure. Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has since come clean and said that the ANC protected Zuma during that time. “People have lost their careers because of that thing,” he confessed.

#PayBackTheMoney

Opposition parties did not take the Nkandla matter lightly. The issue had been following Zuma since his ascendancy to the presidential position in 2009. The courts eventually ruled that he should pay back a portion of the money, and this led to the EFF’s infamous #PayBackTheMoney chants in parliament to demand a definitive date for the refund. Zuma responded by saying that there’s no money that he’s going to be paying back “without a determination by those who are authorized to do so,” as recommended by the public protector.

The small matter of the MK Party

Towards the end of last year, Zuma announced that he wouldn’t be voting for the ANC, and went ahead to fully endorse the MK Party. This move led to the party suspending him weeks later, in January this year. The next few months in the lead-up to the election saw South Africans gravitate towards Zuma’s new organization, a process that would eventually cause an upset at the polls in May. The MK Party has been confirmed as the official opposition in parliament.

State capture allegations

A season of expulsions has dogged Zuma since calls for him to resign started making the rounds during his second tenure as president. He eventually succumbed to party and public pressure in 2018. He stated that he would be quitting the position, but maintained that he differed with the party’s view. A commission of inquiry was set up afterwards to investigate the alleged state capture by the Gupta family during Zuma’s reign. The commission handed its findings to President Ramaphosa, in 2022. The report concluded that state capture was made possible by a “deliberate effort to exploit or weaken key state institutions and public entities, but also including law enforcement institutions and the intelligence services.”

Zuma’s legacy will be that of a controversial leader who made business quarters uncomfortable. His tenure was marred by massive unemployment and economic downturn. He was a populist, and as a result very much loved by the working class. With his active involvement in the ANC now a distant memory, it remains to be seen what fruits his time with the MK Party will bear.