Zuma and the rise of the right.

At the last general election the ANC, recently placed under the stewardship of Jacob Zuma, was returned to power with the mandate of another 2 million voters. A
t the time pundits attributed the increased support to trade union and the ANC Youth League support for Zuma. However since that election there has been a funda
mental realignment within the ANC which should become readily apparent in Mangaung next month. Those factions attributed with giving the ANC its increased mandate are now among those most opposed to Zuma being elected for a second term. By contrast those supporting Zuma are a strange mixture of "radicals" and conservatives including MK veterans, religious leaders, the SACP and traditional leaders.

The realignment does not represent Zumas betrayal of his backers. Rather it reflects the recognition that the additional votes came primarily from "tribal" areas.  At last count approximately one-quarter of South Africans of voting age resided in what are now referred to as "traditional" areas. This makes this constituency one of the most influential in the country and in the ANC.

The features that unite Zuma supporters are becoming ever more apparent. Not only are these groups socially conservative, they tend to be highly patriarchal and, at heart, anti-democratic. To gain the support of these groups candidates have to focus on beguiling their leaders rather than the rank and file. Zuma has to appeal not to the soldiers, congregants and subjects but to an elite of generals, bishops and kings. Obviously this calls for a fundamentally different approach to the populism of the Youth League we grew accustomed to. 

Zuma's pursuit of support from traditional leaders is shown by the ANC's dogged pursuit of "traditional courts". For some time the Department of Justice has been attempting to pass legislation which grants tribal chiefs the right to try criminal and civil cases and impose sanctions as they see appropriate. The procedures and sanctions adopted in these courts are to accord with traditional law and cultural practices.

The Traditional Courts Bill has stalled on repeated rejection by the affected communities.  While the media has tended to emphasise the criticism voiced by women, opposition to the bill is widespread. In the public hearings on the bill men have tended to dominate proceedings both numerically and in vociferousness. They dismiss the bill with as much vigour as that attributed to women. Despite the opposition (which extends into cabinet) the Zuma administration continues to promote the legislation.

Despite the opposition and its obvious unconstitutionality the bill being pushed through because of the advantages it offers traditional leaders. In return traditional leaders can deliver the support of their subjects - at both Mangaung and at the ballot box.

The ANC will probably deny that the phalanx of legislation focussing on traditional areas entrenches partriarchal and anti-egalitarian systems. Admittedly there are now more women on Traditional Councils. Legislation requires that 30 percent of representatives are women. This is all well and good except for the fact that there is no popular support for Traditional Councils and these Councils have no power to speak of. Not only do these elections not meet the criteria for being free-and-fair turnout in Traditional Council elections typically run at less than ten percent of the eligible population.  The reason for the low turnout lies in the negligible influence elected representatives have in the Councils.  Most people on the council are not elected but are appointed by the tribal leaders. Moreover, just as traditional courts are not compelled to observe the precepts of natural justice, the Traditional Councils are not required to adhere to the basic principles of democratic practice. Chiefs are not bound by the majority vote of the Councils. Given this it is surprising that so many people bother to vote in Traditional Council elections at all. 

Constitutional democrats may well have felt relief when the populist Youth Leagues fell from Zuma's grace. Current tension between the ANC and unions  may even comfort those who fear the influence of the left within the ANC. However the alignment of the ANC leader with anti-democratic factions will prove to be far more worrisome. When he resebtly addressed the National House of Traditional Leaders Zuma encouraged them to reject "white mans justice". His justification rests on the view that "white mans justice" turns on cold facts rather than the "warm bodies" prioritised by indigenous justice systems. Zuma echoed criticisms of the judicial system as retributive, overly codified and "un-african". However the constitution now forms the bedrock of that "white mans justice". This perspective coupled with the bulldozing of the Traditional Courts and entrenching the undemocractic Traditional Councils on the most vulnerable communities in the country suggest that Zuma may be similarly predisposed to dismissing the constitution. He seems ready to court traditional authorities in the name of "Africanness" regardless of how it undermines democracy or how  devisive it is within the ANC.