A Touchy Subject...

I was going to title this post 'April Fool', but decided it'd probably be best not to. Politics are always a touchy subject, especially in this country, but, with elections coming up in just 2 weeks time and the recent media coverage, well, I just can't keep my mouth shut...

First, I have to admit, my knowledge of politics, South African specifically, is very limited. I usual change the channel on the television when then news heads towards politics, call me a political ostrich. Still, I always feel like I don't know enough at election time. I don't know what each party stands for, or what their aims for our country are if they are elected. I know who they represent though, that much is obvious and I know who will get my cross. Still, I have been feeling like I need to read a little bit up on who's who in this zoo. I have just been on to the Independent Electoral Commission's web site and found a list of all the registered for this election. And while I was expecting a little bit of background, it simply gives lists and lists of names of people I don't know.

Don't get me wrong, I know some of the 'big' names, like Jacob Zuma. Zuma's our current deputy president and president of the African National Congress (ANC), which is our current ruling party.

Jacob Zuma was born in Kwa-Zulu Natal. His dad died just after WWII and his mother was a domestic worker. He has an informal grade 7 education. Zuma's is the presidential fore-runner for this election (on the 22nd). He's been in the media a lot for plenty of 'silly' things lately. Most recently, his corruption charges (read more here), from which he was officially free of on Monday. He also appeared in court in 2005 on rape charges, for an incident with the daughter of a deceased friend. This too was dismissed from court, it was believed that the incident was consensual. It was revealed during the trial that the young woman was HIV-positive and that Zuma, knowing her status, had not bothered to use a condom during their encounter. Zuma stated, in court, that he'd had a shower after the fact, to reduce his risk of HIV infection. Surely not one of his proudest moments!! He also recently stated that of the white population, only the Afrikaans speaking people are true South Africans. This comment didn't go down too well with the rest of us, but, I guess is all part of his political game. Zuma's a polygamist and has had 5 wives, 3 fiances and a total of 18 children. He's had extra-marital affairs, has been divorced and has had a wife commit suicide. He is a very traditional Zulu man.

I think, what's more frightening then having a president who's an unconvicted criminal, is Zuma's support of Robert Mugabe, although (in his defence) he has criticized their election processes.

I do think that the ANC has done a lot for our country (with a few exclusions, such as public housing and crime), but I am starting to think that perhaps it was just Mandela who led our country out of the white supremacy and carried us into a new era so successfully. I'm not sure how proud he would be of how things are headed at the moment.

So, I've said a lot here, maybe too much. I don't think I should write any more. We really do live in a beautiful country and I do worry about where we're headed at the moment. While I'm not quite sure (OK I'm almost sure) who I'm voting for in this election, I know who I'm not voting for. Do you? XXX PS. Do you think it's OK for me to put this 'out there'? I'll delete this post if you think I should rather have kept my mouth shut...