GARETH VAN ONSELEN: The Jacob Zuma that never was
Bear in mind Zuma’s lofty words before he took office as president when you assess candidates to succeed him
As President Jacob Zuma faces yet another deluge of damning evidence about his relationship with the Gupta family let us take a trip back into the archives to a happier time. The period between his election as ANC president at Polokwane in 2007 and his ascent to the Presidency in 2009 was something of a political honeymoon for Zuma. Unburdened by formal political office yet at the head of governing party he was free to sprout all sorts of fanciful things without being held to account. And he had many opportunities to set out his fantastical vision. The press, in part enamoured by his charm but also nervous and uncertain, granted the future president no end of in-depth interviews, in an attempt to get to the bottom of who he was and what he stood for. Look at what Zuma said at the time and there is much to like. Just to give you a flavour, so overwhelming was support for him that at one point he even suggested Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe had overstayed his welcome. "I don’t th...
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