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UNCLAS PRETORIA 000310 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ASEC KDEM SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA POLITICAL NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 6-FEBRUARY 12 
 
¶1. (SBU)  This was written in partnership with the Open Source 
Center's Pretoria Bureau.  The newsletter is open to contributions 
from officers in the Embassy or in the Consulates who wish to 
highlight political trends.  Contact Madeline Seidenstricker or 
Jonathan Smallridge for more information, or to make contributions. 
The newsletter also is available on the Political Section's blog, "A 
View from South Africa," found on intelink.gov. 
 
------------- 
Domestic News 
------------- 
 
Gay Rights Groups Protest Appointment of Qwelane as Ambassador to 
Uganda 
 
¶2. (SBU) Gay and Lesbian rights groups gathered outside Parliament 
on February 12, the day after President Zuma's State of the Nation 
address, to protest the appointment of John Qwelane as South 
Africa's Ambassador to Uganda.  Columnist Qwelane is facing charges 
of hate speech for comparing homosexuality to bestiality in one of 
his columns.  Gay and lesbian rights groups called the appointment 
of Qwelane, at a time when Uganda is considering further steps to 
criminalize homosexuality, a step backward in the fight against 
homophobia. 
 
News of Zuma Love-Child Sparks Outrage 
¶3.  (SBU) Public outrage over news reports that President Zuma 
fathered an out-of-wedlock child 
undercut planned atmospherics for the annual State of the Nation 
address, timed to take full advantage of the twentieth anniversary 
of Nelson Mandela's release.  News of Zuma's 4-month-old daughter, 
the 20th child for the 67-year-old president, born to the daughter 
of a top World Cup organizer, generated headlines that continued for 
days in the run-up to the State of the Union.  Initially addressing 
the "love-child issue" as a personal matter, Zuma issued a statement 
of apology on February 6, saying he regretted the pain he had caused 
the nation. 
 
------------------ 
International News 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) The South African government has been ordered by a Pretoria 
High Court judge to pay damages to a South African farmer, farming 
in Zimbabwe, for not protecting South Africans from Robert Mugabe's 
land expropriations.  Free State farmer Crawford von Abo, who began 
farming in Zimbabwe 50 years ago, was arrested for "trespassing" on 
his one of his 11 farms in 1997 and even spent time in a Zimbabwean 
jail as Zanu-PF cracked down on white farmers and expropriated their 
land.  The damages are estimated to be as high as R100 million. 
Judge Bill Prinsloo ruled then that the government should, within 60 
days, take all necessary steps to have Von Abo's violation of his 
rights remedied and to report back to court about the steps it had 
taken. (IOL, February 9) 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Zimbabwe's Co-Ministers of Home Affairs on Saturday 
February 6, urged thousands of Zimbabweans living in South Africa to 
return home and help rebuild the country's economy. Addressing a 
gathering in Johannesburg, Ministers Kembo Mohadi (Zanu-PF) and 
Giles Mutsekwa (MDC-T) said the government was ready to drop all 
charges against political activists and specified business people 
who are currently living outside the country. Unemployment in 
Zimbabwe however, remains over 90 percent. (Zimbabwe Weekly Summary, 
February 8) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Parliamentary speaker Max Sisulu led a parliamentarian 
delegation to Iran as part of enhancing bilateral relations between 
the two parliaments.  Both South Africa and Iran are members of the 
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).  The South African delegation 
consisted of Ms. M. Oliphant, house chair of international 
Qconsisted of Ms. M. Oliphant, house chair of international 
relations, and members of parliament, former Western Cape Premier 
Ebrahim Rasool, as well as supporting staff. (Parliament, February 
8) 
 
GIPS