|
Jacob Zuma: Key facts
18/12/2007 21:24 - (SA)
Polokwane - Jacob Zuma was elected leader of the
ruling African National Congress on Tuesday, defeating President
Thabo Mbeki.
Here are some key facts about Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma,
born April 12 1942:
Zuma was South Africa's deputy president for six years
before his sacking in 2005 by President Thabo Mbeki after he was
implicated in a graft trial that saw his former financial
adviser Schabir Shaik convicted on fraud and corruption charges.
Zuma was also charged with graft, but the case was thrown
out on a technicality but a high court ruling in November 2007
cleared the way for evidence to be used against him in any
future prosecution. Zuma was acquitted of rape charges in
May 2006 as well.
A former member of the ANC's military wing, Zuma rose
through the ranks to become head of intelligence in the party, a
post that gave him leverage over allies and opponents alike.
Like Nelson Mandela, he was imprisoned on Robben Island for
conspiring to overthrow white rule, spending 10 years in jail
before going into exile.
Earthy and approachable, the ethnic Zulu from
KwaZulu-Natal has earned respect as a peacemaker at
home, mediating between the ANC and the Zulu-dominated Inkatha
Freedom Party (IFP) at the height of violence in the early 1990s
to head off a possible civil war.
Zuma's position in the ANC strikes a tribal balance in an
organisation perceived to be dominated by leaders from the Xhosa
tribe of Mandela and Mbeki.
Zuma received no formal schooling. He was formerly married
to South Africa's current Foreign Minister, Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma.
|
News
