Real Presidents unify

A real President should unify his people, By Rudzani Floyd Musekwa

In his book entitled - The Race, Author Richard North Patterson asks a very important and rather relevant question if one takes into consideration the recent developments in the country, and the question he asks is, “Can an honest man become President?” Usually that should go without a question, because who needs a dishonest President to lead such a country already in crisis?

The swearing in of Kgalema Motlanthe as the acting President of the country for the next seven months has gone rather unchallenged in parliament, even by the fiercest critics of the ANC such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) (Even though they made a rather lame political statement when they nominated Joe Seremane as their candidate), the PAC, the IFP and that party lead by Themba Godi, amongst other political parties. Motlanthe has proved to be a very calm man even in extraordinary political storms like the current one.

He is indeed the kind of man you need in a crisis. But as Motsoko Pheko of the PAC noted in his speech, "The circumstances under which Motlanthe takes over the highest office in the land are rather unfortunate." The good thing for Motlanthe to know is that at least he had nothing to do with such circumstances in that party. It is very interesting to note that since the rumour went around that Motlanthe would take over from President Thabo Mbeki we haven't heard many quotable quotes by the Youth League, the YCL or Cosatu.

Wow, how things can change in politics. Or is it because their mission has been accomplished? Because they have managed to not only remove, but humiliate Mbeki? Obviously they saw him as their biggest obstacle in their quest for a Zuma presidency. I bet they don't care who becomes the president of the nation as long as he doesn't come directly from what Malema calls "Thabo's camp" as long as they know their Msholozi will be president come 2009 after the elections, after all not so long ago did the Youth League warn the very same Motlanthe not to "behave" as if Zuma does not exist, and also, they have been in power since after Polokwane as the country has been operating from Luthuli house more so than the Union Buildings or Parliament.

Motlanthe has been seen by many a political analysts as a compromise candidate for the position of President in this country even long before the not-so-clear Judge Chris Nicholson judgment. I say "Not-so-clear not because it is unclear to me, but because the majority of South Africans, particularly those who danced and chanted Mshini wam in Durban recently did not understand it. It is also going to be very interesting to see how the ANC is going to deal with the situation once the Motlanthe term is over.

Motlanthe is well-received by those within and outside of the ANC, and also, power can be very addictive and obviously he (Motlanthe), takes over the office knowing the possibility of Zuma being tried and very possibly charged over the more than 700 charges of alleged corruption and money laundering as Helen Zille of the opposing DA always reminds us every once in a while. Also of importance, can the Youth League of Captain Malema, Cosatu of Vavi and the YCL of Manamela and other such Zuma-friendly formations be happy with the possibility of a Motlanthe presidency even after the 7 months that he is hired to serve the nation?

I don't think so, after all it would have been an easy one for Comrade Kgalema since these formations fought so hard over the years for Zuma, and anyone with ambitions to rule this country will have to account to them. This is the time that I really wish we had a strong opposition party to take advantage of such pathetic politics at the ANC, but unfortunately we don't as all we have are the Sandra Bothas of this world ranting in parliament.

Motlanthe, just like Mbeki, is calm and well-reasoned, and is not going to sing a song filled with militant lyrics even when he is happiest. And he is not going to keep mum when the Youth League and its not-so-young supporters threaten the peace of the nation and make uncivil comments. Zuma is a very likeable man in the ANC circles, but because of the dark cloud hanging over his head, just like a character in Richard North Patterson's book- The Race, Zuma is seen by many as one trying to escape from darkness to light, and whether he will succeed we have to respect the judiciary, but unfortunately according to his allies Zuma is an already free man, clean and a victim of a political conspiracy.

I think it will be very important that Judge Nicholson explain his September 12th judgement to all of us in plain English what he meant because the majority are really lost in that judgement. He was generally heard, but also generally not understood. Now to answer North Patterson's question, yes, an honest man can become president of a country, and I see Motlanthe as such a man. But we not only need an honest man for the highest office in the land, we need a man who will be able to unify the whole of South Africa, as he is now accountable to almost 49 million South Africans regardless of the party they support. All of the best Mkhuluwa. Aloota Continua.

First appeared in the Cape Times