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| REIGNING MAN: President Jacob Zuma will remain president for the next 5 years. source: www.iol.co.za |
President Jacob Zuma gets second term, to actually serve for the next five years as the president of this country. So by the looks of it, Zuma might get a second term as other candidates my feel intimidated to challenge him for the presidency, because of his supporters. But then again there is hope; delegates are not sheep. I don't believe there is homogeneity in province voting behaviour; although I know it tends to be very tribal with Eastern Cape (EC) Xhosa's opposing Zuma and Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN) Zulus strongly supporting Zuma. Zuma getting a second term might be good for provinces such as KZN, being built on his second term in office; the African National Congress (ANC) will suffer a great deal. Already, the ANC support in some provinces, like the Northern Cape and North West is not good at all. With some Metros and Municipalities just a few digits away from being taken by the opposition party, Zuma is really a strong man I must say.
Remember, Zuma has faced many challenges through his succession as the president of the nation. Let us look at the short summary at Zuma's journey since 2005 till today:
- In 2005 Thabo Mbeki removed Jacob Zuma from his post as Deputy President of South Africa, after Zuma was implicated in a corruption scandal and charges of rape. In October 2005, some supporters of Zuma burned T-shirts portraying Mbeki's picture at a protest.
- In 2006 Jacob Zuma went on trial for allegedly raping an HIV-positive woman. He argued that she had consented to sex and he was eventually found not guilty. There was visible split between Zuma's supporters and Mbeki's allies in the ANC. But Zuma surfaced stronger.
- On 20 September 2008, Thabo Mbeki announced his resignation after being recalled by the African National Congress's National Executive Committee, following a conclusion by Judge Nicholson of improper interference in the National Prosecuting Authority including the prosecution of Jacob Zuma for corruption.
- On 12 January 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal unanimously overturned Judge Nicholson’s judgement but the resignation stood.
Today, that man is our president and still going to reign for the next 5 years. There's very little tolerance in the ANC for two centres of power. We've seen that with the removal of [former president] Thabo Mbeki. I would not give any credence to these reports, more so because they are from so called unnamed sources," she said. This could be their way of accommodating Zuma, given that they can't discount the fact that he has considerable support if not majority support in the party. The media has played its role in exposing what Zuma is doing and his corruption endeavours.With all the scandals, this man has faced, such as being called a man who has a shocking reputation for polygamy, misogyny and promiscuity, and who has been made to answer many uncomfortable questions about rape previously. The communication practitioners of the ANC and for the presidency are really good at managing people's perceptions.
What is your take on this matter? Should this man serve another term as the president or get dethroned?
