The Zuma Effect

Jacob Zuma never had an ideological project – a vision of the nation or a mission of genuine upliftment. Rather, his ambition was rooted in personal interests: to evade the law and assuage his dire financial circumstances. Anomalous as his presidency was, his rise to the highest office, and his abuse of it, can be explained.

Leading political scientists Mcebisi Ndletyana and Mashupye Maserumule recount the full story of what happened – the plots, the proxies and the power plays – to transform the ANC from a party of principle to one of rent-seeking. With Zuma’s ascendancy, the split in the party was no longer about ideology; it was between the looters and the constitutionalists. Who caved? And who stood firm? As they reconstruct what happened, the authors uncover the chilling tools used by the Zuma faction: suspensions and sidelinings, slurs, bribes, rape allegations, muti . . . even assassination.

Yet this is not a story with a single villain. At every turning point – every court ruling, every caucus vote, every nomination declined – a different choice was possible. The Zuma years did not have to unfold as they did.

Examining Zuma’s personality and ethnic background, the legacy of exile, and the intricacies of inter-ANC rivalries, The Zuma Effect shows why populism and ethnic mobilisation are so powerful – and dangerous. Drawing on more than 50 interviews with key insiders, this is the definitive account of the Zuma presidency.