Go, Zuma, go!

Before virtual tomatoes are flying through cyberspace and into my direction, I am not the least a JZ fan. The way he thinks about the relationships between men and women, his (in my opinion) strange ideas about HIV and showers, and the alleged corruption charges have made me very wary about this chap.

However, despite the fact that I’d rather not vote for him, I must give the man some credit. So far, not too many South African politicians have openly dared to produce some critical noise regarding the Zimbabwean crisis.

Of course I realise all too well that this is part of Zuma’s very clever political strategy to get as many voters behind him as possible. Hey, his image has taken a few knocks over the past couple of years and the elections are just around the corner.

I also realise that Zuma, by expressing apprehension at Zimbabwe’s post-election deadlock, is trying to get back at Thabo “Sound of Silence” Mbeki, who “released” JZ from his duties as deputy president. Obviously, that must still hurt.

But to Zimbabweans inside and outside Zimbabwe, Zuma’s attempt to break the South African silence might come as a relief: for so very long, South Africa’s political arena has remained numb when it comes to what is happening in Zim. Now, finally, someone — a senior politician — has acknowledged the seriousness of the situation.

Of course I could be completely wrong; if I am, my sincere apologies. The last thing I want to do is claim something that is not based on facts. That is why I’d like to ask Zimbabweans — I know you are out there — to share their views on this topic.