/ 10 August 2008

JZ’s backers are like bad songs …

Staff Photographer
Staff Photographer

The vacuous stare of the nubile in a pink T-shirt emblazoned with ANC president Jacob Zuma’s face and framed by the words “I Love You Daddy” came alive as anticipation rippled through the crowd outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday.

Zuma, having addressed the 5 000-or-so people briefly, broke into yet another rendition of Mshini Wam‘ bringing a quiver to the young woman’s lips before articulating itself in a series of hip-thrusts.

When it comes to the miscegenation of pop music and politics, even U2’s Bono has nothing on the president of South Africa’s ruling party.

The show of support for Zuma outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court during the hearing of his application to have the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) decision to prosecute him declared unconstitutional, had the trappings of a marathon music festival.

Over three days, starting with a night vigil on Sunday, mid-tempo beats and maskanda songs in praise of Zuma thumped through Freedom Square outside the court.

The odd marijuana cloud could be sniffed while the liquor shop on nearby Langalibalele Street did brisk trade — as did those peddling picture frames, coffee mugs, shirts and kangas bearing the visage of a grinning JZ.

The port-a-loos overflowed.

The resurrection of Zuma has not merely made politics sexy again, but downright salacious. Groupies, some of whom had bunked school for the day, wandered around in T-shirts saying “Marry Me Zuma”, giving rise to a more tawdry interpretation of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s vow that the youth were willing to lay down their bodies to ensure Zuma’s freedom.

While Monday’s crowd included the pointy-shoed BEE brigade, civil servants, Umkhonto veterans, the unemployed and ANC members from as far as Gauteng and Limpopo, Tuesday’s gathering of about 3 000 appeared to be the preserve of the poor.

“He’s from the same background as us — A man like Zuma knows about suffering. Thabo Mbeki has never been in a suffering situation, he knows nothing about suffering,” says Simphiwe Dlomo about why he is here.

Dlomo (33) says he is an Umkhonto weSizwe veteran who left for Uganda at age 13 in 1988. He wants Zuma to become president of the country because he believes the integration process for veterans into the South African National Defence Force “was not fair and JZ is the man to recognise MK properly because he was a commander”.

Echoing the SACP’s warning that the prolonged lead-up to Zuma’s trial would bring the country “to the brink”, Dlomo did not rule out civil war when asked whether he was prepared to kill for Zuma.

“Anything is possible in a revolution and we will do everything necessary to ensure Zuma does not go to jail. But we must be civilised now and there can’t be a situation where we lose our principles,” he said.

Thembinkosi Xulu (27) is unemployed and lives in Pietermartizburg. “The law is being bent for other people, so why can’t it be bent for someone with the majority behind him?” he argues. “If they are making a plan for [Sudanese president Omar] al-Bashir to not stand trial [for war crimes in the International Criminal Court] why can’t they do the same for Zuma?”

Xulu says he supports calls from the tripartite alliance to have Zuma’s criminal charges thrown out because he believes “the judicial system in South Africa is corrupt from A to Z”.

Zolile Nonzanga (50) travelled up from Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape to show his support for Zuma, which included camping out on Freedom Square, where he ran a makeshift food stand: “Zuma will hear the voice from the grass roots more than [Thabo] Mbeki. Local government is where the problem is because municipalities don’t want to listen and learn and Zuma will change this,” he says.

ANC member Mbuso Dladla (39) is here because he believes Zuma has been made the scapegoat for the arms deal, but his suggestion is something that would make even the new leadership uneasy: “All the members of the ANC who were involved in corruption in the arms deal should be brought before court. This should have happened in the first place. The state has mishandled the whole thing. That is why I am supporting Zuma,” he says.

Another supporter, who looks worse for wear after a second consecutive night sleeping in the open and admits to being “over-drunk”, says he supports Zuma because “He will tell people to start [putting money] with guys in my language. White is a language, Indian is a language and they have all the money. The Xhosas have had the money opened up for them, now it is the Zulus’ turn,” he dribbles.

Speaking to some JZ supporters about the reasons for their presence outside court feels like asking a teenage Britney Spears fan why he likes the singer.

Instead of an android recitation of Spice Girls’ lyrics (I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want) substitute the rhetorical utterances spewed out by the likes of Cosatu’s Zwelinzima Vavi and Malema: “Justice must be served”, “He is the victim of a political conspiracy”; “Zuma is the only person who can lead the ANC”; “Justice delayed is justice denied”; “The courts are not independent” and “The media have decided already that he is guilty so we must fight back”.

Even bad pop songs, if played often enough, are infectious.