I get asked frequently why Jacob Zuma, in spite of the destruction he caused, is still fanatically supported by many people.
Zuma appears to be supported by many South Africans who suffered under his presidency, losing jobs because of corruption, mismanagement and incompetence, their children receiving poor schooling in failing public schools neglected by the government, or their family members dying in public hospitals because a corrupt tender meant that basic services were absent.
Obviously, those who benefited from Zuma's presidency can be expected to support him. They include those in cadre or patronage appointments in the legislatures, government and state-owned entities, or those who secured government tenders through their proximity to the Zuma camp.
Many beneficiaries of corruption support Zuma. They want calls for him to account for corruption and for his prosecution to be dropped because they fear that successfully bringing Zuma to book will mean they will be the next to face similar scrutiny.
Frighteningly, many black South Africans appear unable to link the impact of corruption, mismanagement and incompetence by Zuma - and other ANC leaders of course - directly to their own unemployment, the lack of basic public services and to runaway crime.
The collapse of SOEs such as South African Airways, the power outages by Eskom that collapsed many businesses, wiped out jobs and deterred new investments that could have created new jobs, the lack of housing, water delivery and the ineffectiveness of the police to keep them safe all contributed to the despair.
The corruption, mismanagement and incompetence increased the poverty, inequality and unemployment legacies of apartheid.
Some supporters back Zuma for ethnic reasons.
Zuma, in his internal leadership campaigns in the ANC, and in his attempts to stay out of jail, mobilised support on ethnic lines, appealing to Zulu speakers to support him on the basis of his Zulu-ness alone, rather than on competence.
This has fuelled the flames of tribalism, destabilising the ANC and SA.
Some support Zuma out of misguided compassion, saying he is old and should be left alone, not understanding that leaders must account for the pain they inflict on millions because of their actions.
In the culture, norms and standards of the ANC it has become morally acceptable for party members and leaders to use the state for personal gain, as part of the 'rewards' for governing
Such "compassion" for Zuma and other corrupt leaders is also related to the fact that many appear not to fully grasp how corruption, mismanagement and incompetence by the likes of Zuma directly affect their own and others' lives through the failure of the state, lack of public services, and collapse of businesses.
This leads to the destruction of opportunities, the breakdown of families, and deaths.
In the same way that Zuma and many other corrupt ANC leaders view themselves as entitled to accumulate wealth through public resources and distributing state patronage to allies, family and friends, as part of the "dividend" of liberation and therefore not wrong, many ordinary members and supporters of the ANC also appear to see nothing wrong in that.
In the culture, norms and standards of the ANC it has become morally acceptable for party members and leaders to use the state for personal gain, as part of the "rewards" for governing.
The collective trauma of colonialism and apartheid has left a legacy of "collective victimhood" and suffering among many black South Africans. Populists such as Zuma have taken advantage of the collective victimhood mentality to place the blame for the consequences of their current corruption, mismanagement and incompetence in government solely on the legacy of colonialism, apartheid and racism.
Because of this collective victimhood among many black South Africans, current leaders are almost never held accountable for their wrongdoing because they can blame it on colonialism, apartheid and racism - and then escape being held accountable by other blacks.
If the conservative estimate of R3-trillion that was directly lost - without adding the capital, resources and talent that left or decided not to invest in SA because of corruption, mismanagement and incompetence during the nine wasted years of Zuma - had been prudently used, many of the development legacies of apartheid could have been eradicated by now.
Until black South Africans and people in other African countries stop supporting leaders like Zuma based on ethnicity, shared victimhood and loyalty because of shared membership of liberation movements that are now corrupt, inequalities left by colonial and apartheid traumas will never be overcome. They will get worse.
• Gumede is associate professor, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, and author of 'Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times' (Tafelberg)
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