IslandMix

Who will WIN the VOTE??

18/12/2007 19:28 POLOKWANE, South Africa, Dec 18 (AFP)

'Unstoppable Zunami' sweeps through SAfrica's ANC

Jacob Zuma, so often declared a political corpse during a scandal-plagued career, has pulled off a huge comeback by unseating Thabo Mbeki as head of South Africa's ruling ANC.

Despite facing graft accusations that may yet sink his chances of becoming president, Zuma has ridden a populist wave of disenchantment with Mbeki's record in government that has been dubbed an "Unstoppable Zunami".

An ethnic Zulu whose earthy congeniality offers a sharp contrast with the patrician Mbeki, the 65-year-old Zuma has nevertheless unsettled many South Africans with his avowedly populist approach to politics.

Idolised by his mostly leftist backers as a champion of the poor, Zuma has unnerved the markets and the ANC old guard who recall the disciplined nature of the movement when it was at the vanguard of the fight against apartheid.

Zuma earned his spurs during that campaign, spending time alongside former president Nelson Mandela on the notorious Robben Island penal colony.

Like Mandela, he has an instictive rapport with the people characterised by his tendency to break into dance often accompanied by supporters singing his signature tune "Umshini Wami" (Zulu for "Bring Me My Machine-Gun").

"In Zuma we see ourselves, we see humility, down to earth. We see somebody we can speak to, who has a genuine love for people," said Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, a Zuma ally.

Even Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu concedes Zuma is a "likeable" person, but with a track record that would "shame" the country were he to become president.

Fired by Mbeki as deputy head of state in June 2005 after his financial adviser was jailed for canvassing bribes for Zuma, the new ANC leader is still the subject of a graft probe and could be charged again after losing a court bid to declare a series of arrest warrants illegal.

Last year, Zuma was acquitted of rape but ridiculed for testifying in court that he took a shower after having had consensual sex with his HIV-positive accuser. He was head of the National AIDS Council at the time.

Given the ANC's dominance over its political rivals, the party leadership should normally pave the way for Zuma to become head of state when Mbeki's constitutionally-limited two-term stint comes to an end in 2009.

But he has acknowledged that a conviction for graft in the months ahead would rule him out for good.

"Allegations don't mean the man is guilty until the court says the person is guilty," Zuma said in a recent radio interview.

"If I'm taken to court and the judge says 'Zuma, we find you guilty', as I walk out of court I will say to the ANC 'I'm stepping down'."

Born in rural Inkandla in the KwaZulu-Natal province, Zuma, the son of a domestic worker, had no formal schooling.

He joined the ANC in 1958 and was convicted of trying to overthrow the apartheid government five years later, serving 10 years on Robben Island.

He went into exile for 12 years in Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia -- where he was the ANC's chief of intelligence.

Zuma returned to South Africa after a ban on the ANC was lifted in 1990, and was key in talks with the National Party regime that led to a negotiated national unity government.

Popularly known by his clan name Msholozi or simply JZ, he became a provincial economic minister in KwaZulu-Natal before being elected deputy president of the country in 1999.

Despite his sacking from government in 2005, Zuma retained his post as deputy ANC president which he used as a base to launch his comeback.