A beaming Zuma flanked by his wives. From left, Nomumpelelo, Thobika and Gertrude, his first wife.

By Robert Kalumba

African presidents are known to have girlfriends, in some cases publically known to many, but parade their official First Lady in public.

Zuma is admirable for doing it officially and publicly, instead of having side dishes in secret, writes Robert Kalumba
His harem is slowly mirroring that of King Mswati of Swaziland and could possibly be the envy of many African presidents. on January 4 , Jacob Zuma married Thobeka Stacey Mabhija, a former banker, taking his tally of wives to five.
As far as non-Muslim presidents go, Zuma has a tiny bit of history he’s meticulously chipping out for himself. He is currently the president with the largest number of First Ladies in the world. Now, that’s something. If you put into consideration the possibility of him marrying two more women, then one could assume that his position as the head honcho when it comes to “presidents and their official wives” club, could be unassailable in future.
However, his recent marriage has stirred some bit of aggro within some sections of society. Their arguments hinge on polygamy and its supposedly negative connotations that not only render the practice “archaic” in most of today’s society, but as one of the reasons attributed to the sudden rise of Aids in the late 80s.
This is not helped by the fact that a head of state is the culprit here and it being Zuma, provides even more wood to those that are roasting him at the moment. This is the same man who was accused of rape and is now marrying left, right and centre! He has brought disgrace to the presidency and South Africa at large, they shout at the top of their voices.

Truth be told, there is something awkward about Zuma and his relationships with women. The contradictions in his love life are quite glaring if not embarrassing. At one moment he is on the Aids Board preaching care in the sexual behaviour of South Africans, then the next moment, he is accused of raping an Aids activist who was HIV positive. Asked whether he feared acquiring the disease from this lady, he said no because he took a shower afterwards to cut the risk of acquiring HIV. 
Zuma’s daughters, Phumizile and Duduzile  Zuma, and Gugulethu Zuma.

On top of using condoms to negate the risk of acquiring HIV, why didn’t he (since he was part of those on the Aids Board) start a campaign advising men to shower after sex as a means to stop the Aids virus in its tracks? Wouldn’t it be a welcome addition in the fight against Aids? If it can save lives then it’s worth a try, right? Of course that was hogwash.

But that is Zuma for you. At times his actions, especially the sexual kind, border on illiterate. He claims to be a Christian but polygamy which he proudly embraces, is not only frowned upon in Christianity but simply not allowed. Should we say he is a Mormon, the only known Christianity sect that embraces polygamy? He’s really confusing.

However, all that notwithstanding, there could be some logic in what many see as madness in Zuma’s marriages. So what if he marries a whole village? Does that make him an inefficient leader or perhaps bring shame to the presidency? When has monogamy been a barometer for a successful leadership? Africa has had its fair share of dodgy presidents; from the Mugabes to Moi. However, their “monogamy” didn’t make them angels in their countries. Actually, in the case of Mugabe, his wife, Grace, is one of the biggest strains on the Zimbabwean national coffers with her endless shopping sprees in Asia!

Besides, it’s common knowledge within our society that our politicians, including presidents, have multiple partners but pretend to be holier than thou in public. This hypocrisy can be traced within our society, with many married men having extramarital affairs but comfortably portraying the facade of a “happily married couple”.

So why not admire Zuma’s honesty in marrying as many women as he can instead of having side dishes? What is more shameful - a president with one official first lady but many unofficial first ladies, some employed by the government as principal private secretaries, ministers etc; or a leader who publicly marries his first ladies?

The argument about Zuma tarnishing the presidency’s image with a truckload of wives is quite double-edged. Yes, it is a first in many ways and quite a sight. Imagine a Guard of Honour mounted and Zuma standing at the podium, escorted by all his wives, queuing besides him on the podium. However ridiculous and “un-president like” that sight would be, others could argue that it’s in no way a reflection of the President’s policies. The two are separate entities.

Even those who argue that his polygamous ways gives off wrong signals to men, especially in the rural areas and could hamper the fight against Aids could be latching onto something. However, without sounding careless, the more than 20 million people that have Aids are not all as a result of polygamy. Actually, in a country like Uganda, the increase of Aids is mainly in marriages. There are many ways one can acquire Aids, including polygamy. However, it would be unfair to accuse a practicing polygamist for fanning the spread of Aids.

Zuma should be applauded for his honesty in marrying the women he loves. If only other African Presidents could borrow a leaf from his honesty instead of pretending they have only one woman all the way to the grave! The public and perhaps your wife know about the other women, so you are not fooling anyone.
However, it’s Zuma who needs to spearhead the fight against Aids by being exemplary in declaring that despite his harem, he too like the rest of us is careful when it comes to Aids. Last December, during his speech on World Aids Day, he promised to not only fight the killer disease but undergo an HIV test as a sign that he is determined to tackle the disease. Please, Zuma, take your wives along for the test…that’s what married couples do, right?