Just like other democracies, smear campaigns and dirty tricks are now part and parcel of our election build-up.
And since the ANC is now just weeks away from its leadership conference, and with reports of intense jockeying for the top positions, we can expect many stories about questionable actions from the front runners.
So it didn’t come as any surprise to read about accusations that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has had not one, but several, extra-marital affairs.
In fact, the report accused him of having eight young girlfriends, which would make him THE most virile blesser in the country.
Ramaphosa has admitted to having had one affair many years ago.
As for the rest, he and his wife (tycoon Patrice Motsepe’s sister) say they sponsor several young women’s studies, some of whose names appear on the list of his supposed lovers.
Of course, many people are looking at Jacob Zuma as the man behind the attempts to discredit Ramaphosa, so that his ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ) can stand a better chance of becoming the next president.
PREZ HOPEFUL: Nkosazana
I must say, I doubt that very much.
I think Zuma knows that voters don’t much care about sexual shenanigans anymore.
Just think about it.
How many affairs must Jacob Zuma have had over the years, in order for him to have accumulated so many wives?
He’s a president with a rape trial in his past.
And how sordid is it that he had had a shower after having had sex with an HIV-positive woman?
Not to mention the fact that the woman was his best friend’s daughter!
So you see, it can’t be Jacob Zuma, because even with eight girlfriends, Ramaphosa would be angelic next to uBaba.
I’m not making excuses for Cyril, but as far as I know, the man hasn’t broken any laws.
His troubles are of a domestic nature, which we should leave him and his wife to sort out.
Not that it’s right, but the truth is, we are in a time when sex scandals are synonymous with politicians.
The public has come to understand that politicians are not the moral giants that they would like us to believe.
As long as their sexual shenanigans do not affect their ability to carry out their duties, I reckon most people are kind of OK with that.
As for us voters, it would be in our best interest to take every story about presidential hopefuls with a massive pinch of salt over the next few weeks.
There are going to be many supposed leaks and accusations. But we are also going to see a lot more of ANC politicians in our neighbourhoods.
Both Zumas addressed crowds in Lwandle and Nyanga this weekend.
No surprise there, because just like the smear campaigns, voter schmoozing is another inevita- bility when it comes to election time.