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Zapiro 120515tt

The Times

15 May 2012

The Leadership Challenge and the Showerman Show

Due to outdated codes, traditions and rituals governing the elections of the ANC president, challengers are often afraid to announce their canditure. The opacity, secrecy and lack of transparency in internal ANC elections open the system to manipulation, corruption and the abuse. It also raises the possibility of selective prosecutions to sideline rivals. While Jacob Zuma and Gwede Mantashe have banned all public talk about the leadership succession in the party, saying such talk is premature. Reality showws every political manoeuvre by the ANC leadership now is aimed at influencing the direction of the party’s leadership election at the 2012 national elective conference in Bloemfontein (Mangaung). Now who are the challengers? Zapiro's cartoon lists:

Jellyman (Kgalema Motlanthe) - Weakness no backbone - Motlanthe, who was initially reluctant to challenge Zuma, has now told his comrades in the ANC and government that he is interested in the position. Motlanthe has kept his distance, at least publicly, from those campaigning for ANC President . Hiis presence at a rally organised by the ANC Youth League in Limpopo in March created the impression he did not mind being associated with a group campaigning for change.On the otherhand he has n't had the guts to announce his candidature.

Invisible Man (Cyril Ramphosa) - Does n't show up - Will Cyril Ramaphosa step up to the Presdential plate or is it a question of not IF but WHEN. Is he waiing for the right time. Back in 1994 he could have been made Mandela’s deputy president but at that stage lost out to Mbeki and withdrew from active politics but remained in the ANC's NEC.

Too cocky man (Tokyo Sexwale) - His annoying sidekick jujuman - Most of the Sunday papers have reported that unofficial challnger Tokyo Sexwale’s campaign – the unofficial one of course – was finally getting off the ground.

The original cartoon that was published in the Times had a mistake. The label on Invisible Man was left out. Sometimes there are deliberately little mysteries in a cartoon and it’s intriguing for the reader to work them out. But sometimes the cartoonist leaves something out by mistake because of a looming deadline and the cartoon loses a key piece of information. That’s what happened today.

The Cartoon is based on a parody of The Avengers, which is a team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics.

Jacob Zuma / Kgalema Motlanthe / Cyril Ramaphosa / Tokyo Sexwale / Julius Malema

ANC / Presidential elections / Mangaung / Showerman / The Avengers