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#jacobzuma As I always promise you, I am always looking for stories that major media outlets miss. Last year we were all preoccupied with the disaster of Covid-19 and the contested presidential election here in the US. A half a world away in South Africa, a cataclysmic event took place. Former President Jacob Zuma was jailed for 15 months on a charge of contempt of court. (Please this was just "the tip of the iceberg." The 5,700-page Zando Report identified some $32 billion US dollars in corruption associated with Zuma and the ruling African National Congress.)
What followed was violence and social unrest on a grand scale throughout South Africa. There were tens of billions of dollars in property damage. Sadly, many people were killed and injured. The economy collapsed for 4 weeks. The police and military struggled to regain control and restore order. They were not successful. When authorities agreed to transfer Jacob Zuma to house arrest on a "medical parole," the violence subsided. One year later the police and military are unable to identify the organizers and leaders of this massive social upheaval.
I have given this event great thought. I'm sure that over 95% of the rioters were black Africans and mixed-race coloreds. The reason behind this social unrest is far deeper than Jacob Zuma.
Before 1994, South Africa had a system of Apartheid separating races. The best jobs were reserved for whites and Chinese who were classified under this race system as "Honorary Whites." Black Africans, mixed-race coloureds, and Indians of Indian ancestry were excluded from these jobs.
During the struggle to end Apartheid, many senior ANC members were imprisoned for decades. Those lucky enough to flee the country did not go to Moscow or Havana (for example.) Most of them ended up at a most unlikely place-Rutgers University in New Jersey. This includes the current president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. An acquaintance of mine who has been most kind to me ended up at Rutgers. Her name is Barbara Joyce Masakela (Her brother is the late jazz great Hugh Masakela,) If you watched the Clint Eastwood film "Invictus," you saw a most capable woman who was Nelson Mandela's right-hand person. It was Ms. Masakela. When Apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela came to power, the black majority was full of hope and expectation. They were sure that the massive 27% unemployment would end.
Some 28 years later, the black and coloured unemployment in South Africa is still around 27%. The Indian population has prospered due to habits of good education and skill in business in technology. The ruling African National Congress has made an effort to improve infrastructure in black and coloured areas.
What went wrong? When the barriers to employment came down, many business opportunities were opened to black and coloured people. Only the highly educated blacks like the group that had been at Rutgers University had the skills to take advantage of these opportunities. A few black elites became quite wealthy and powerful.
What should have happened was massive education programs to uplift black and mixed-race coloured people. Massive corruption hobbled these programs. The vast majority of blacks and mixed-race coloured people saw little change in their lives and little hope for the future. Then Jacob Zuma came along. Despite his corruption and lavish personal lifestyle, he became "the beacon of hope" for all these downtrodden people. Any move against him by authorities led to rage. The result was a violent uprising. I have a feeling that South African authorities are afraid to bring the full weight of the law on Zuma. They fear another uprising like the one a year ago.
There are a couple of other countries in the world with large and disgruntled segments of the population. They see certain political leaders as their hope and salvation. Such massive and violent social unrest might not be limited to South Africa in the future.