A VIEW OF THE WEEK: Trump? We have a Trump at home
· Citizen
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While I would advise you to avoid such scams like you would MTN Taxi Rank after dark, some 30-day challenges do work. Like the one former president Jacob Zuma is currently undertaking.
The great purge
In three months, which is a little more than 30 days btw, Zuma’s MK Party will once again contest elections. They were the surprise of the 2024 national elections, securing the third-highest votes in the country and the most of any party in KwaZulu-Natal.
It was clear that Zuma’s aura remained, but will it still shine two years later?
Like old Donnie Trump across the sea, Zuma is an astute politician and a stubborn person who won’t let facts or public opinion make up his mind for him. They demand attention, whether from outrage or adoration, creating political churches of worshippers from their members. There are few like them in world politics.
They are also obsessed with power and the enrichment it brings, and so are patient before pouncing for another piece of the pie.
So when 84-year-old Zuma shuffled out of the shade of Nkandla to once again rearrange his party less than 30 days ago, it was clear that he was gatvol of the project he had created and wanted control again.
There were signs of a shift in the months before, like when he axed his daughter as MP and banned all factionalism. He had seen his party go rogue and, as a former leader of an ANC currently in implosion, he was fully aware that a civil war would destroy his young party and kill hopes of a return to power.
So he was decisive.
In late July, he took over bank accounts and dissolved a short-lived Presidential Task Team (PTT) meant to manage the party ahead of the elections.
This week, he reinstated the PTT, seemingly with curtailed powers, and replaced his deputy president, Dr John Hlophe, with his son, Duduzane Zuma.
The succession and power-by-proxy plan that just a few months ago appeared to have failed miserably was now back on track with another child in the chair.
More importantly, with elections on the horizon, he was taking the control needed to ensure victory.
Phone a friend
As we see nearly daily from Trump, he has no problem using his power and relationships to enrich those around him, infecting everyone from football bosses, like FIFA president Gianni Infantino, to entire states so his business friends can grab resources.
His time as president has had far too many similarities to the dark era of State Capture in South Africa and the many under-the-table deals during Zuma’s presidency.
Zuma, like Trump, will always thrive as the “bad guy”, yet they live in the weird psychological fascination we all have with a powerful figure who appears to look and act like us. They live lives completely different to ours but still pretend to be just like us, a neighbour, a friend.
This toxic deception brainwashes us to fall for the “them vs us” siege mentality that drip-feeds other intolerances like tribalism, homophobia, and xenophobia.
More importantly, it ensures there is a band of loyal followers who not only believe the world is against them and their leader, but also, crucially, win them elections.