Tea and sympathy

MALEMA AND ZUMA: DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIND A COMMON INTEREST, SAYS PROFESSOR

Experts agree the surprising meeting between former president Jacob Zuma and Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema is a desperate attempt to find common ground in South Africa’s turbulent political space.

Tea invitation out of sync with numerous historic public spats.

This week’s call from Julius Malema to Jacob Zuma for them to sit down to tea together could well be an indication that they are hoping to mend fences in the face of their common political enemies, President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

Political analyst Dirk Kotze, politics professor at Unisa, said Zuma and Malema were desperate and trying to build a nonexistent common interest.

“They are common opponents against anticorruption efforts initiated by Ramaphosa,” Kotze said.

Zuma and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) had also identified the commission as common enemy and target.

The fact that EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu labelled the commission a “factional nonsense” was a deliberate attempt to portray it as a tool to fight Ramaphosa’s ANC factional battles. The aim was to discredit it.

For Zuma to agree to meet Malema was out of sync with their historic public spats and that demonstrated their desperation.

“They feel they need each other. Both of them feel the heat of Ramaphosa,” Kotze said.

“Obviously, this is a good sign for Ramaphosa that his actions are having an effect. If not, they would have ignored him and carried on with their lives.”

In a twitter chat between them, Zuma agreed to Malema’s request for a tea meeting at Nkandla and the EFF leader promised to visit the rural homestead at the weekend. He did not specify the agenda of their meeting.

Hardly a month ago, the EFF leader described Zuma’s refusal to appear before the Zondo commission as “stupidity”.

But on Wednesday, he asked to have tea with Zuma.

Previously, the EFF leadership demonised Zuma, including calling him a “constitutional delinquent”.

The party vowed to make his former administration a hell.

According the professor Barry Hanyane from the North-West University, Potchefstroom campus, Malema and Zuma could be on a mission to explore a common denominator to exploit.

“Speculative in nature, it can’t be written off that the two have found a common enemy in the form of the Zondo commission and will want to share ideas and strategise on how to deal and respond to the pressure thereof,” said Hanyane.

“One could argue this tells us that these powerful men want to give support to one another.

“Perhaps through advice in terms of dealing with a particular enemy.

“The narratives suggest the two might have found each other through the recent spate of happenings within the commission. Perhaps Julius Malema might want to get something out of the former president.

“Again, it’s a free lesson to everyone in politics that your enemy may very well become your friend despite the publicised animosity and ideological differences between the two of you.”

Kotze said the Nkandla meeting showed Malema and Zuma were desperate and willing to make compromises to protect themselves.

Both of them feel the heat of Ramaphosa.

Dirk Kotze

Politics professor, Unisa