This morning I sat in front of Jacob Zuma, during a breakfast meeting at the Johannesburg Country Club, organized by the South African Institute of Race Relations.
The current ANC President was the guest of honour, and gave a fairly short speech and answered some pertinent questions from the audience.
I’ve never met the man, nor seen him in real life. Today I saw him standing in front of me, shorter than I expected, and no shower peering out of his shiny head. He spoke slowly, with a voice so calm and deep that even his bodyguard started nodding off. I’m not saying that he was boring, but he wasn’t exhilarating either.
People I have spoken to, who have met Mr. Zuma before, have mostly commented on his charisma. There is definitely a truth to that, as his laugh and smile are addictive, he comes across as humble and courteous, and he seems to be able to humour his previous and current circumstances – even if only perhaps in front of the public.
If I’d met Msholozi without any prior knowledge of his past and present state of affairs, I would have genuinely liked and believed in him as the character that I witnessed this morning.
This could perhaps mean one of three things:
- Jacob Zuma’s character has in fact been so misrepresented and distorted by the media that we all have a completely negative misperception about the man.
- Perhaps Jacob Zuma is in fact genuinely charismatic and dignified and has been underestimated by the public?
- Or maybe he understands very well when to use his charming nature in order to make a positive impression and win people over.
If you’re wondering why these pics are so grainy there’s a simple explanation. I took these pics with my Canon G7 on a very high ISO setting, no flash, limited natural lighting, and at 1/30sec.
The G7, like all other G models does not perform very well on high ISO settings. I had to lighten these images using Photoshop which brought out the grain even more…
I vote #3.
Very good Gregor.
I heard JZ speak last year at a business conference, and once the R1 million/month entourage peeled away, he addressed the audience in a way that made you question whether the stories could really be true. His passionate support base proves that he has great leadership qualities. But does he have the fundamental integrity to support it?
Wish we knew what the answer was. I don’t know if we’ll ever know the truth.
You know, look at the facts as they currently stand: He may (or may not) have had inappropriate sexual relations with a girl, he has accepted bribes, and is probably guilty of inciting violence amongst his supporters (or indirectly supporting it, ala Malema).
Name a politician that hasn’t. In fact, name a single person that hasn’t committed any of those acts, or wouldn’t if given the opportunity. I can’t even honestly name myself.
Of course, balooning Zuma, magnifying his only-human flaws and parading his dirty laundry to the world is an excellent way to cover up what’s actually going on behind ANC doors.
I would have bought all of this – if it wasn’t for the proposed amendments to the Constitution. That, alone, singles him and his cadres out as corrupt beyond measure.
~ Wogan
Wogan, your last point is an important one, as is the way that the NPA cases against Zuma and Jackie Selebi have been reacted by the respective defendants.
Those do certainly swing the pendulum against our incumbent.
Whatever the case, it’s nice to finally hear someone say something positive about the man
I’ve also met Zuma and thought he was very charming in a packed room. I think he’s all of the above.
British journalist Peter Hitchens has written a story this week saying he has the “charisma of an ashtray”. Check out my blog post on this at:
http://grubstreet.co.za/2009/04/01/hells-bells-the-daily-mail-on-south-africa/#more-830
I suppose that it’s good to remember that corruption doesn’t need a song. It’s the quiet ones you have to look out for
I love the grainy pics.
JZ is a bit of all of the above. I’ve heard him speak a few times over the past 12 years and met him a few times too.
He does have real warmth an charisma, but he is certainly a flawed human being with a difficult past.
Now he is a politician and he does it really well.
I do believe that he was targeted and that the media has demonised him. As I said I know he isn’t perfect, not nearly but he has been made into a one man swart gevaar!