the corner office

I have no compunction about referring to Jacob Zuma as a dishonest crook, and I had no compunction about doing it before the Shaik verdict sealed the deal. It was just bloody obvious.

The rape charges brought against Zuma are a different story though. I'm not sure what to make of it. It feels irresponsible to condemn Zuma before he's been properly tried, and yet it feels irresponsible not to acknowledge the gravity of the allegations. They're just an entirely different level of seriousness. There was a lot of speculation that it was just a stunt to sink Zuma politically, but the state must feel it has sufficient evidence, or else they'd have dropped the charges? In this case I think the only safe stance is to wait until the courts have convicted or acquitted him.

Either way, I suspect that only the most pathologically corrupt, stupid or demented in the ANC's power structures will continue to stick with Zuma through this, and I suspect that Mbeki will arranging a long walk on a very short political pier for them, if he hasn't already.