Grace shows how the ANC grovels

Government’s treatment of Grace Mugabe suggests that SA’s problem is not President Jacob Zuma but the ANC.

Zuma’s corruption is perhaps more blatant than previous ANC corruption but in principle no different from anything since the ’60s.

Zuma’s adoration of Mugabe’s tyranny, shown by the fiasco over Grace, is no different from that of previous ANC leaders, except Nelson Mandela.

By the way, what is the correct way of addressing Grace Mugabe? Comrade Mugabe? Princess Mugabe? Dr Mugabe? (she won a PhD from the University of Zimbabwe in only three months. Perhaps Dr Max Price of UCT should follow this example and grant PhDs to politically connected black students in three months.)

Two weeks ago, I predicted wrongly that the parliamentary speaker would order an open vote of no confidence in President Zuma. She ordered a secret one – and he still won, although more than 20 ANC MPs voted against him.

This was the best outcome for the opposition. But the notion that our country would do better under another ANC leader is nonsense.

Since 1980, Robert Mugabe took a beautiful country blessed with natural resources and talented people and systematically ruined it. He turned Zimbabwe into a starving tyranny. He murdered, terrorised and impoverished its people. At every step, the ANC has cheered him, supported him and grovelled at his feet.

Zuma does indeed cringe before Mugabe, as we can see by his granting diplomatic immunity to his wife after she had allegedly assaulted Gabriella Engels. But previous ANC leaders grovelled more.

President Thabo Mbeki bowed his knees even lower before Mugabe. When Mugabe lost the 2008 election by a landslide, Mbeki made sure he stayed in power against the wishes of the people. Mbeki’s ministers, including Ronnie Kasrils, supported this travesty of democracy.

Dr Grace Mugabe is an extremely rich, vicious bully who regards ordinary people with contempt. She lives in luxury while African people go hungry. She beat up a young woman who annoyed her. And Zuma exonerates her.

What’s new? The ANC has excused far worse crimes from Mugabe for more than 23 years.