The Zuma phenomenon
I have not written much about the Zuma rape trial...yes, I know, I haven't written much at all. But anyway, there is something I REALLY don't understand, and maybe someone can explain it to me. Although, I don't think there is an answer, or at least not a plausible answer that we could understand.
The rape trial of Jacon Zuma has brought to light that this man slept with a women who he knew had AIDS and yet he didn't use a condom. Whether he raped her not, he still knowingly went into a situation whereby he willingly engaged in sexual intercourse with a women that he knew to be infected with the AIDS virus. Huh? As a leader of a country with one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world, this is his personal behaviour? I don't get it - shouldn't he know better?
I mean this is the man, who as former deputy president of South Africa, was not only head of the Moral Regeneration Movement, but also chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). I end this post with a quote from a speech made by Zuma, in his position as chairperson of SANAC.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I said earlier that we have now come face to face with the epidemic. We are therefore one step ahead in that we are steadily moving away from the era of doubt, fear, denial and ignorance.
However there is also a danger that this first-hand knowledge of the disease may lead to complacency, and to people taking AIDS for granted as a "given", something that will happen at some time or other in their lives, that they will just have to live with.
That would be dangerous. We should remain as vigilant and as determined to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS as we were when we did not know a single person who had succumbed to the disease.
It is important for us to arm ourselves with knowledge on how not to contract HIV, and if we are already infected, we should seek knowledge of how to live positively with it.
The message of prevention still remains important, Abstain, Be Faithful or Use a Condom. With regards to young people, we advocate abstinence until you are old enough to understand the seriousness of relationships."
Don't know the character well enough to comment truthfully. But I suppose he might tell us to do what he says, not what he does, assuming he actually did have unprotected intercourse with an HIV/AIDS patient.
Posted by: Rethabile Masilo | March 15, 2006 at 01:01 AM
Zuma has been exposed as a hypocrite so the rape allegations weren't exactly suprising. I think it he was arrogant enough to think that he could actually get away with raping a woman...this time though it seems he made the mistake of his life.
Posted by: Quinton | March 15, 2006 at 05:28 PM
granted - but it still doesn't explain his having sex without a condom - why would he rapr a person he knwe had the virus?
Posted by: bronwyn | March 16, 2006 at 10:18 AM
granted - but it still doesn't explain his having sex without a condom - why would he rape a person he knew had the virus?
Posted by: bronwyn | March 16, 2006 at 10:20 AM
The belief that it wont (or worse - can't) happen to me, AKA denialism. This is in part why hiv/aids is so rampent in SA. the steadfast belief that while the virus is a risk it's not my risk.
Posted by: zaBlogger | March 26, 2006 at 02:53 PM
Yes, denialism. That's what it is. I didn't know that's what that particular behaviour was called.
Posted by: Rethabile Masilo | March 27, 2006 at 08:14 PM
It is a measure of how caught up the south african perception of leadership remains, that people on the ground have not yet learnt, leaders are in it for themselves.
Sitting in an upmarket waterfront establishment listening to a highly qualified african american ridiculing south africa and its aids polciy provides a jaring international perspective. We are only fooling ourselves.
It is time for mass protests
Posted by: mike C | March 28, 2006 at 07:38 AM
Simple! Zuma have had sexual relation with the woman long ago. He knew that this time won't change anything at all. One thing he certainly didn't know is that the woman was bought. Zuma is just an irresponsible person, not able to control himself; how could he control a country?
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Posted by: Dominic | April 03, 2006 at 10:07 PM
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Posted by: NoodleOne | April 26, 2006 at 02:23 PM