Controversial politician Jacob Zuma was on Saturday sworn in as President of South Africa by a number of world leaders, including Vice President Hamid Ansari. The ceremony began with recitation of Gayatri Mantra by a religious leader. South African Air Force jets staged an impressive fly-past and a 21-gun salute boomed as supporters clad in ANC T-shirts danced in joy. The hugely popular ANC leader had polled 277 votes as against his opponent Mvume Dandala, who got 47 votes in Parliament in Cape town.The ANC has been in power since 1994 when the apartheid came to an end in South Africa, which is also home to 1.5 million people of Indian-origin. Zuma, the son of a housekeeper, had vowed during the electioneering that he would bring "visible change" that would improve the lives of blacks in the country. After being elected, he paid a tribute to "our icon" Nelson Mandela in a letter.
Life and Controversy:
In a biography of Zuma released by the ANC, the party highlighted his humble background, noting that he had dropped out of school after the death of his father and studied at night and while herding goats. The 67-year-old charismatic African National Congress (ANC) leader, who overcame rape and graft charges. Corruption charges against Zuma, who was accused of accepting bribes in a French arms scam, were dropped recently while he was acquitted of raping an HIV-positive family friend in 2006. He has three wives and 19 children. He is a traditionalist member of the Zulu tribe, which allows men to have more than one spouse.
Life and Controversy:
In a biography of Zuma released by the ANC, the party highlighted his humble background, noting that he had dropped out of school after the death of his father and studied at night and while herding goats. The 67-year-old charismatic African National Congress (ANC) leader, who overcame rape and graft charges. Corruption charges against Zuma, who was accused of accepting bribes in a French arms scam, were dropped recently while he was acquitted of raping an HIV-positive family friend in 2006. He has three wives and 19 children. He is a traditionalist member of the Zulu tribe, which allows men to have more than one spouse.
0 comments:
Post a Comment