29 Notable Quotes By Jacob Zuma

The Constitution is only there to regulate matters.

  

...The people love him. So how can we condemn him?

  

That is a debatable point, whether South Africans are xenophobic. I don't you'd have the numbers that you have of foreigners if South Africa was xenophobic.

  

...having a member who serves in the Government and who also belongs to the structures of the party does not retard this particular objective the separation of party and state. It does not.

  

African problems should have African solutions.

  

A shower would minimise the risk of contracting the disease.

  

Jan van Riebeeck's arrival in Cape Town was the beginning of all South Africa's problems.

  

Something has gone wrong with Ronnie... He wasn't like that before. I don't know what went wrong with him.

  

There is not a single country in the world that is not interested in doing business with China. And no one is seriously concerned about human rights. But Africans are criticized for wanting to do business with China.

  

We want to eradicate all mud schools. We are already doing so. We are not in a hurry because no one is going to rule but the ANC.

  

Those who vote for the ANC will be blessed on earth and heaven

  

The ancestors will turn their backs against you and you will have bad luck forever if you leave the ANC unhappy

  

People tend to try to find something to talk about Zuma. My surname is very nice and simple. Very simple, so they like pronouncing it all the time. So what's the problem?

  

Same sex marriage is a disgrace to the nation and to God. When I was growing up, ‘ungqingili’ [homosexuals in isiZulu] could not stand in front of me, I would knock him out.

  

Me? Well, I don't know, I must go to a dictionary and learn what a crook is. I've never been a crook.

  

You have fewer rights because you are a minority. Absolutely, that’s how democracy works.

  

Even if you apply any kind of lotion and straighten your hair you will never be white.

  

The majority in this country have not seen anything wrong with Zuma. I go with the overwhelming feeling of this country. If the majority say, 'Zuma, do this,' I will do it.

  

We South Africans are also crazy about football, so the World Cup can be nothing but successful.

  

When I joined the ANC, I never thought I would be anything. In no way, did I say, 'One day I could be the president. I think I am good material for the presidency.' Not at all.

  

Africa suffered under European dominance for centuries.

  

There is no cloud above my head - there is not even a mist.

  

As a citizen of this country, I've got to be honest to the people of South Africa.

  

Criminality is always the result of poverty. Countries that experience such a fundamental change as we have - we had the apartheid regime and must now develop a multicultural democracy - must necessarily pass through a phase of high crime rates.

Experience

  

People are constantly applying double standards. Take the United States, for example. Washington wants the whole world to admire the country for its democracy. Then the government sends out its army, in the name of this democracy, and leaves behind the kind of chaos we see in Iraq.

  

What made Nelson Mandela great, was precisely what made him human. We saw in him, what we seek in ourselves.

  

God expects the ANC to rule this country because we are the only organisation which was blessed by pastors when it was formed. It is even blessed in Heaven. That is why we will rule until Jesus comes back. We should not allow anyone to govern our city [Cape Town] when we are ruling the country.

  

We're not forcing people... you can support and be a supporter, but if you go beyond that and become a member, [and] if you're a businessman, your business will multiply... Everything you touch will multiply. I've always said that a wise businessperson will support the ANC... because supporting the ANC means you're investing very well in your business.

  

It is wrong to leave the ANC, in fact, it is cold and rough outside the ANC. People must remain in the party and try to fix things internally because those who do leave they will attract the wrath of the ancestors, who will also bring that person bad luck