Zuma’s stance may be divisive

The biggest mistake many “clevers” – both black and white – make about Jacob Zuma is confusing his essentially traditionalist and “rural” nature with naiveté or even stupidity.

We are running a fascinating story today where an analyst looks at how Zuma – in the years of the struggle, as peacemaker in KwaZulu-Natal in the 1990s, as ANC senior politician and then as president of both the party and the country – has unashamedly adopted the position of a traditionalist.

His espousing of traditional values and support for “cultural” issues has been motivated by a genuine commitment to promoting African values and ideas and not, as other politicians may have done in the past, a cynical way of garnering support in the populous rural areas.

So, he has given the traditional system of governance – through kings, chiefs and headmen – much more power. And his own life has been lived, unapologetically, as a “100% Zulu boy”, in everything from frequently wearing traditional garb to living the institution of polygamy.

But the danger in Zuma’s approach and attitude is that it has the potential to fan the flames of ethnicity and tribalism, as well as widening the gap between rural and urban, old and young.

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