Of Political Bees and Honeypots

Our naughty politicians with deviant sexual behaviour seem to possess collective propensity to readily imagine political conspiracies when caught with their pants down. In 2006, our virile Jacob of Nkandla was accused by a kanga-clad young woman of rape. The courts dismissed the rape charge and concluded that the sexual encounter between the young lady in question and our baby-oiled lothario from Nkandla was consensual. But during the court proceeding, Kemp J. Kemp, argued that there was a political plot against his client who aspired to become the President of the Republic. Kemp told the court that, “Her actions were calculated. A political plot to discredit the accused.” The claim of political mechanisations to bring some political figure down in such instances is always beyond absurd. Our Jacob of Nkandla stuck to his script that the universe was out to get him, in spite of overwhelming evidence that it was his own unbridled libido that conspired against him.

Now we have Zwelinzima Vavi, who had recently transformed himself as some moral evangelist, caught with his zip open. Coincidentally, Vavi was one of the most vociferous supporters of our Jacob of Nkandla during his troubles with the law. He remains a fugitive of justice. Vavi warned us against the wave of tsunami that Jacob was, in spite of corruption charges. He wanted a man of questionable character to be elected president of the ANC and ordinarily become the state president. Subsequently, our trade unionist morphed into a quasi-anti-corruption crusader. He wanted to portray himself as a morally upright individual who worked tirelessly to promote all that is good for the welfare of society and the working class in particular. Vavi went to great lengths of promoting himself as a committed family man on social networks. But charlatans who generally pretend to respectable virtues almost always fail to sustain their lie for much longer. There are corruption allegations that have been levelled against him by his Cosatu comrades, none of which to date have been proven. He has however admitted to improperly hiring a young woman with whom he developed some mutually beneficial sexual symbiosis. A brief one at that. Vavi who we have come to know as a defender of workers’ rights in the workplace, betrayed the very principles and values he had long pretended to stand for. His sexual relationship with her subordinate is improper, regardless of whether it was consensual or not. His lack of integrity is further evidenced by his decision to turn Cosatu House into some Coitus House where he savours carnal knowledge of his married colleague.

Like our Jacob of Nkandla, Vavi want to convince the public that there is some political conspiracy behind his deviant sexual behaviour. Not long ago, he told us that Iranians were out to get him. Could the young lady perhaps be working with the Iranians? It was Vavi who went to great lengths to ensure that the young lady in question is employed by Cosatu. The documentation released by Vavi reveals that he was paying some “social grants” to the improperly hired young lady during his cause to establish sexual relations with her. There is general suspicion that there existed some kind of a job-for-sex arrangement, whether explicitly agreed or not, is a matter between the two parties involved. It cannot be that when Vavi expressly established this improper sexual relation with his subordinate, he claims that his enemies are plotting against him. He unzipped his own pants in that office in full knowledge that his actions were inappropriate.

Our naughty politicians need to start taking responsibility for their actions. Accountability remains an arduous ideal that these public figures continues refuse to commit themselves to upholding. We the people have for a long time allowed to leaders to get away without being held accountable for their actions. We have been accessories in entrenching this behaviour. We have not punished our leaders at the ballot box nor have we remained resolute in our demand for them to vacate office when compromised. We place trust on leaders with questionable virtues and expect them to fulfil their promise to be incorruptible and upright public servants. We create charlatans like Vavi and hoist them as respectable leaders who will advance the good we aspire to as society. It is important that we begin to hold leaders true to the pledges they make when ascending to higher office; and immediately remove them when they fail to honour those pledges. The only conspiracy public figures should be that by the people conspiring to hold them accountable. That they fail to restrain their libido is no political conspiracy. We must not be side-tracked.