South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma’s family
slaughtered 12 cows at his rural village at the weekend in a traditional ritual
to help him keep his job, local media said Monday.
The Times quoted one
clan elder calling on the ancestors to protect Zuma against his rivals ahead of
an African National Congress (ANC) leadership vote next month.
“We appeal to you all
… ancestors, to be with him, to guide him and protect him against those ganging
up against him,” Maqhinga Zuma said at the ceremony in Nkandla where an upgrade
to the leader’s private home has sparked controversy.
Guests feasted on the
beef cooked on open fire and drank traditional brew, according to the newspaper
The Star.
Pictures of Zuma clad
in a traditional Zulu warrior leopardskin jacket and brandishing a spear and
shield were plastered on the front pages of two leading newspapers.
He faces a tough
re-election bid at the ruling party congress after some former supporters have
in recent months openly campaigned for his removal, calling for him to be
replaced by his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe.
No party officials
attended the ceremony.
Zuma has come under
fire for his leadership in the face of a myriad pressing challenges, including
a slowing economy, joblessness and spiralling corruption.
His home in Nkandla,
a village in rural KwaZulu-Natal, is also at the centre of a storm over a security
upgrade costing around $28 million.
Opposition parties
are trying to introduce a vote of no-confidence motion in parliament.
Despite Zuma’s waning
popularity, analysts believe he will be re-elected as party leader, which would
virtually hand him another term as the country’s president from 2014 due to the
ANC’s overwhelming political dominance.
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