Former President Zuma and his golden begging bowl to Burkina Faso

In Portuguese they say: even the smallest ass can deliver so much diarrhoea content. Jacob Zuma is a failed politician. What can an old, disgraced leader possibly teach a young, successful president? Zuma should be ashamed to stand near Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso. Corrupt through and through, his lifestyle is backward. Is he telling Traoré that marrying ten women is African and normal, and that he should emulate "Grandfather Zuma"? Does Zuma realize the embarrassment of standing next to a young leader who has his act together?  

Zuma, a grandfather who has never realized his armpits are smelly, needs to be told to take a bath before meeting Traoré. But for Zuma, it is too late. In German they say: der Zug ist längst gefahren-the train has long departed.

What does Zuma want in Burkina Faso, seven thousand miles away from the country he failed completely? He has been in prison for corruption charges, swindling millions of state revenues to expand his Nkandla residence. When the law caught up with him, he faked illness to escape serving his full sentence. A staunch tribalist, Zuma formed the Umkhonto We Sizwe party to muddy the waters for the ANC, contributing to its failure to secure a parliamentary majority in the last elections.

Zuma’s personal life mirrors his political failures. He has had ten wives across generations, some as old as his daughters. One committed suicide, another left in frustration at a patriarchal establishment she could not endure. A harrowing video about the fate of Zuma’s wives-neglect, abuse, despair-is trending on social media. Is this the lifestyle he is selling to Traoré? Disturbing a young president from his duties to welcome a sellout who betrayed South Africa’s vision and Africa’s future.

Zuma’s corruption is well documented. Nkandla was only the tip of the iceberg. The Gupta media empire shielded him from accountability. As President, Zuma voted with NATO at the UN for a no-fly zone over Libya, leading to Gaddafi’s murder. Libya and Africa have never recovered. Thanks to Zuma, Sub-Saharan youth became casualties of death and human trafficking. Slave markets in North Africa openly sell Africans to the Middle East.

During his tenure, xenophobia was coordinated by his son Edward. Black South Africans hunted black foreigners like rats. Those caught were burnt alive. We remember Emanuel Sithole from Mozambique-stabbed and set alight while crowds watched as if it were entertainment. Zuma dismissed it as "tsotsies," denying xenophobia altogether. He deliberately fueled tribal nationalism for political gain.

Social media reports that Traoré snubbed Zuma in Ouagadougou. If true, I welcome it. Traoré is well informed. We want a united Africa, not one polluted by traitors with medieval practices. Zuma now pretends to be more Pan-African than the Pan-Africanists. His speech in Ouagadougou was fake, hollow rhetoric. At best, Zuma should never have asked for a meeting. He is not fit to tie Traoré’s shoes. Zuma is a double sellout.

Let us not forget Marikana. Under Zuma’s presidency, police gunned down more than 34 miners demanding better wages. Zuma, once ANC intelligence chief, became an appendage of white capital. He supported Morocco’s annexation of Saharawi, against AU policy. He must also come clean about Chris Hani’s death. As ANC intelligence chief, Zuma knows more than anyone. It is not enough to blame a Polish gunman. Who gave the orders?

Zuma protected white capital. South Africa is floated on Wall Street. How does a man with three years of basic education-barely literate-lecture on African nationalism? The downfall of South Africa’s economy was doctored by Zuma, not Thabo Mbeki. As Prince Mashele says, Africans who run institutions without education are a disgrace.

Social media says Traoré snubbed Zuma. I welcome it. Apart from empty rhetoric, what did Zuma bring to the table? I speculate he went begging for financial assistance-his golden bowl in hand. He hoped Pan-African rhetoric would earn him millions. Instead, it stank in Traoré’s nostrils.  

There is no money left in South Africa. Zuma’s next bait is Burkina Faso. He hoped for gold nuggets to sell in Johannesburg to maintain Nkandla. His ex-wife, Dr. Nkosazana Zuma, was also seen in the capital, repeating tired rhetoric. How they expect Gen Zs to buy such fake Pan-Africanism is baffling. The days of impostors are over. We want a true, united Pan-Africanism-not a fake one. Africans must never forgive Barack Obama and Jacob Zuma. Together, they reversed Africa’s development by decades.