Zuma’s boot will do Stalin proud

Unlike his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma never appeared to care much for pan-Africanism during his time in office as president, despite having lived a large portion of his life in exile in African countries.

But he seems to be making up for that omission with gusto these days.

He’s just been having a tête-à-tête with Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the man who seized power in Burkina Faso and who is currently the darling of the Africanists and those who want to take the fight to “white monopoly capital” and the colonialists.

He’s probably also getting tips from Paul Biya, the 93 year old who has been in power in Cameroon for the past 45 years and looks set to die in office.

Zuma, who deports himself like a king on many occasions, clearly believes he has a divine right to tell people what to do and to hell with democracy.

So, Traore would appeal to him. Ditto with Biya, for whom age is just an inconvenient number.

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Our former president’s belief that it is either his way or the highway emerges clearly in the way his uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) has been run of late.

So many heads have rolled in recent days that even Joseph Stalin would have been proud of the purges happening around Nkandla.

The latest to seem to be getting the boot is disgraced former judge John Hlophe, who was MK’s deputy president and who has been suspended while there is an investigation into his “conduct”.

The party said it wanted to send a strong message about “collective leadership”.

That is ironic because the only collective leadership in MK appears to be around the Zuma family collective and, specifically, around his forceful daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who exerts considerable power.

In Africa, the dynasty always triumphs over democracy. We’re lucky it hasn’t happened here… yet.

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