"ukungafiki kukamosele ekhempini yebafana kujabhise umqeqeshi uhugo broos oqala kabusha leli qembu ngabadlali abasebancane. umosele, obeyibamba kwibaroka, ushaya into ecokeme kwezimnyama selokhu efikile." lo mlingisi akuyena owokuqala ukushiya kulo mdlalo kwazise kusanda kuhamba nothandeka dawn king naye okwazwela kakhulu kubabukeli eshiya. ozakwabo bamfisele okuhle ngisho nodadewabo ongumlingisi ulondeka mchunu owaduma kwisithembiso. to a tinderbox. The late Nelson Mandela’s refusal to meet Zuma on his return from ex­ ile — and the fact that he did not hold any position in the Mandela government — ce­ mented the idea for me that Zuma was not good news and that he was best kept away from the seats of power. However, for his role in the early nineties in bringing calm to KwaZulu­Natal when it was on the brink of civil war, Zuma was re­ warded in 1994 when the ANC under Man­ dela made an exception in the organisa­ tion’s constitution so that Zuma could hold the positions of national chair of the party and chair of the ANC in KZN simultaneously. This was an exception that allowed Zu­ ma to cement his authority at grass­roots level in KZN and at the same time, it was the start of the end for the ANC as it cow­ ered at the threat of Zuma being able to cause massive disruptions at the time. When Thabo Mbeki fell out of favour with rank­and­file ANC members, it was a fired­up Zuma who managed to seize the moment and skilfully manoeuvre his way into the presidency. With the help of the ANC Youth League and Cosatu, Zuma be­