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Articles on Jacob Zuma

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Supporters of South Africa’s governing ANC during President Jacob Zuma’s election campaign in Pretoria. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Sharp-tongued South African voters give ruling ANC a stiff rebuke

For more than 20 years the ANC’s electoral support has appeared unyielding to the obvious weaknesses of its performance in government. To fall below 60% is psychologically significant for the party.
Supporters of South Africa’s governing ANC with a mock coffin of the opposition EFF at the ANC’s Siyanqoba rally ahead of local elections. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Electoral tremors are shaking South Africa’s ANC. How will it respond?

The ANC has faced an inexorable, gradual decline in support since 2004. There is no evidence that it has been able to reverse this trend.
Supporters of South Africa’s governing ANC during campaigning for upcoming local election. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Cracks in South Africa’s governing alliance could cost the ANC dearly

The Tripartite Alliance in South Africa has previously provided the governing African National Congress with diverse support, securing it victory at the polls. It is now riven with dissension.
Former South African presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki at Mbeki’s inauguration in 1999. Reuters

Book review: finding a vocabulary to judge Thabo Mbeki

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki remains a puzzle to many of his compatriots. A new book, ‘The Thabo Mbeki I know’, will help to understand him better.
Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa unsuccessfully pleads for calm with angry ANC supporters. EPA/Ihsaan Haffejee

Violence in South Africa’s capital leaves ANC vulnerable at the polls

Some of the factors behind the riots by ANC supporters in Tshwane are not new. They include gripes within the governing party about its process for choosing mayors and divisions over Jacob Zuma.
South African President Jacob Zuma inflated the size of his cabinet, making it among the largest in the world. GCIS

Why South Africa would do well to fire all its deputy ministers

Although not a panacea, cutting down the number of deputy ministers would go a long way to helping government get its finances onto a more stable footing.
The Economic Freedom Fighters recently launched their manifesto in Soweto. Party leader Julius Malema (waving) is the master of political theatre. EPA/Cornell Tukiri

South Africa’s EFF: excellent politics of props and imagination

Red berets, hard hats, overalls and domestic workers’ uniforms have become a prominent part of South African politics. But these are more than just props for the EFF political party.
The cover of the ‘Weekly Standard’, February 2016.

There should be no monkeying about with hate speech

Two recent controversial cartoons depicting people as apes have raised an important question: what are the legal and philosophical distinctions between harm and offence?
Women support Jacob Zuma outside court during his 2006 rape trial. Women are often complicit in sustaining patriarchy. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Trump and Zuma: worlds apart but bound by patriarchy and sexism

Seemingly poles apart, Donald Trump and Jacob Zuma have something in common: they are both prominent patriarchs with populist support. And they both count women among their staunch supporters.
A woman cheers during Freedom Day celebrations in South Africa. Reuters/Mujahid Safodien

South Africans take stock as the country celebrates Freedom Day

South Africa’s transition to democracy was based on the values of inclusive politics, reconciliation, human rights and constitutionalism. Twenty-two years on, how has the country fared?
Supporters of South Africa’s ruling ANC cheer at a rally to launch the party’s 2016 local government elections manifesto in Nelson Mandela Bay. Reuters/Mike Hutchings

How South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Bay may be the ANC’s mini Waterloo

Poor attendance at the launch of the ANC’s local elections manifesto shows the party no longer holds much weight with the electorate in the key Nelson Mandela Bay, which it has dominated since 1994.
Heads of state at an African Union session in Addis Ababa. They have signed up to a plan that envisages strengthening institutions and governance. EPA/Solan Kolli

Why Zuma’s ‘African way’ is at odds with the African Union’s vision

If the governing ANC ignores the calls for Zuma’s resignation,it may undermine South Africa’s leadership on the continent. It creates the idea that he can undermine the constitution with impunity.
Allegations that President Jacob Zuma’s friends, the Gupta family, corruptly dictate cabinet appointments have plunged South Africa into a political crisis. Shutterstock

Why state capture is a regressive step for any society

Lobbying political actors to achieve particular outcomes is an acceptable practice in a democracy. But state capture, as is allegedly happening in South Africa, denotes holding the state to ransom.
Gwede Mantashe, general secretary of South Africa’s governing party the African National Congress, holds the key to Jacob Zuma’s future. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Dramatic night in South Africa leaves president hanging on by a thread

For the time being at least, South African President Jacob Zuma is not ready to relinquish power. But perhaps sooner rather than later he may have to face the inevitable.

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