MaNtuli’s infidelity scandal


Date: July 1, 2010
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Description
The case study is an analysis of three articles from three different newspapers. On 4 June 2010, newspapers in South Africa were awash with infidelity news of President Jacob Zuma’s second wife Nompumelelo Ntuli Zuma popularly known as “MaNtuli” with one of her bodyguards.

Articles analysed
– Zuma sex scandal, The Citizen 4 June 2010
– The cheat cheated, The Star 4 June 2010
– Fear and loathing (and zipped lips) in Nkandla, City Press 6 June 2010

These articles may be used to:
– Demonstrate the unequal power relations that exist between women and men in the African society and between the ruler and the ruled
– Discuss the challenges that are posed by polygamy especially around the spread of HIV and AIDS
– Highlight how different newspapers mediate a particular issue

Analysis
The articles are gender blind in that they do not interview MaNtuli herself about the allegations. The basis of the stories is thus on hear-say. The language used in the articles seem to justify MaNtuli’s behaviour and that her husband Jacob Zuma deserves to be cheated on.

Headlines
Zuma sex scandal is one of the headlines of the articles which is followed by a by-line Unfaithful: one of JZ’s wives “had an affair”. On the other hand, The cheat cheated is followed by two by lines First Zuma admits had two affairs and Now his wife is accused of adultery. The headline calls on citizens to read the story in tandem with previous scandals that have hit the family. The last headline reflects how the ruled can become passive agents and ignore commenting on issues that affect livelihoods.

Sources
The sources in the articles are biased in that there are more women than men who are quoted. The views are thus unbalanced. Some of the interviewed sources denounce Mantuli’s behaviour whilst others such as Deborah Fraser who is her friend clearly denies the allegations. By implication the journalist who in this case can also be source writes, The cheat cheated seems to be justifying MaNtuli’s actions by also referring to Zuma’s past infidelity cases. The only male source directly quoted in the story Zuma sex scandal is a family relative who choses to protect the president and his wife and therefore does not affirm the infidelity case.

Language
The adjectives used in the story convey biases. MaNtuli is described as unfaithful, “a “no good”, full of herself, a cheat and an embarrassment. MaNtuli is portrayed in a negative sense. Whilst one of the bylines clearly states that she was unfaithful, one can question if this headline is appropriate considering that the President himself has been unfaithful several times and has publicly confessed to two affairs.

Visual images
Two of the stories are accompanied by images. One image is of MaNtuli standing next to Jacob Zuma and it was captured during the trip to India. It was during this overseas trip that the scandal broke out in South African newspapers. Two small images of the other women in Zuma’s life are inserted in the story, one of Kwezi, who Zuma admitted to having unprotected sex with and also Khoza who bore a baby for Zuma. The photos are relevant to the stories as they assist in relating the current story to previous scandals. The other image is of Zuma’s three wives and they are portrayed as happy. The photograph is sarcastic in that by implication MaNtuli is not happy and is thus engaged in extra-marital affairs.

Story angle and perspective
The viewpoints that are heard in the story are those of the reporters, some women in the Nkandla community, neighbours to MaNtuli and her friend Deobrah Fraser. However, the viewpoint of the reporters predominates the in all the articles. Zuma and MaNtuli’s voices are missing from the stories. Zuma’s voice would have been vital as it gives citizens his thoughts about infidelity and how as a leader he would tackle the issue. MaNtuli’s voice would also have been of value to the story as she would have explain herself. The stories are judgemental in that in the absence of MaNtuli’s voice, they have already taken a position that MaNtuli was unfaithful.

Placement or positioning
Since the stories are related to a scandal, they are given prominence in the different newspapers. The cheat cheated in a front page story whilst Fear and loathing (and zipped lips) in Nkandla is an inside news story on page six and has a bold headline. On the right side of the same story is a related story where a journalist tracks the family of the bodyguard at the centre of this scandal. The news stories are given prominence because they are important to debates around transformative leadership and whether the personal is private for leaders. The photo placed in the City Press story is sarcastic in that it places at the centre Zuma’s three official wives who in the picture are happy and ultimately submissive to Zuma thereby not able to challenge his behaviour.

Training exercises

Exercise one: Give the trainees the three newspaper clippings and discuss the following questions:
– How is MaNtuli being portrayed in the different newspaper articles?
– Is the way she is portrayed the same as the way Zuma was positioned during the scandal involving Irvin Khoza’s daughter and him?
– What sort of power relations are raised in the story?
– What sort of a debate should the nation have around the issue of polygamy and infidelity?
– How is the positioning of the stories related to the factors affecting news production?

Exercise two: What follow up article can you do as a journalist?
– How can you cast a gender lens to the follow up story?
– What background information would be important for your story?
– What sources would you interview?

Other training resources
– Zuma and culture
– Chapter on language in the Gender and media handbook
– Gender and transformative leadership checklist
– Polygamy “I” stories

 

 

 


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Download : 11796_fear_and_loathing_in_nkandla_city_press_060610.jpg

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