President Jacob Zuma at his inauguration. (Photo Courtesy BuaNews)

Nairobi — South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has been in the news lately for many wrong reasons. JZ, as he is popularly known, is reported to have sired a love child with a divorcee.

What is seen as a breach of family trust has raised questions about Zuma's personal judgement and whether he has the mettle to lead South Africa.

It has reignited attention to an embarrassing rape trial a few years ago in which he was accused of having non-consensual and unprotected sex with an HIV-positive family friend.

Many read political motive in those charges and Zuma was eventually cleared. But the trial embarrassed the man who, as vice-president, led the country's moral regeneration movement initiated by former president Thabo Mbeki.

Zuma's capacity to walk the talk on moral and ethical issues came into question and the latest incident shows that these remain valid and disturbing questions.

It is unclear what impact this has on Zuma's standing amongst his majority black supporters in South Africa. But, going by the massive support he maintained throughout his rape and earlier corruption trials, it seems the black majority, who form the bastion of his support, are least bothered about his personal indiscretions.

JZ is a popular and highly accomplished political mobiliser who weathered what was widely seen as a carefully choreographed scheme to block him from ascending to high office following the conviction of his private financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, for corruption which forced his resignation as vice- president.

Justice Hilary Squire who presided over Shaik's trial found that Zuma had a "generally corrupt" relationship with a fraudster who had bankrolled him in return for political favours which translated into lucrative government contracts.

As expected, Justice Squire's ruling generated a great deal of hair splitting but Mbeki would have none of it. In his words, "the judgment (contained) some categorical outcomes which raised questions of conduct that would be inconsistent with expectations that attend to those who hold public office".

A leitmotif of those who rallied to Zuma's defence was to cast him as a victim of political machinations aimed at frustrating his political career. An underlying but barely subliminal line was to hack to a conspiracy theory of the Xhosa (represented by Mbeki) fighting a potential Zulu presidency.

These issues obscured the serious questions on integrity by a man aspiring for high office.

Zuma was, of course, eventually cleared of the corruption charges paving way for nomination by the African National Congress (ANC) to vie for the presidency.

The acquittal is seen as an act of deft political strategy notwithstanding the fact that the National Prosecution Authority was unable to sustain a conviction which entitles Zuma to the presumption of innocence.

Going by the notoriety of the past, it is almost certain that we have not had the last from Zuma's rich cocktail of controversy. It begs the question whether a man prone to personal indiscretions can diligently execute his mandate and command respect on the world stage.

South Africa is not a nondescript republic. It is a regional leader whose economy is bigger than the combined GDP of the 14-member grouping of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

It has pioneered key blueprints like the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) that was reconfigured at last week's African Union heads of state summit in Addis Ababa. A key player in regional peace keeping initiatives in Burundi and DRC, it is among top contributors to the African Union budget.

The towering image of the iconic Nelson Mandela is a global signature for tolerance amongst different races and that one places special responsibility on the country's leadership.

While it is difficult to fit Zuma within Madiba's moral and ethical prism, he must safeguard his legacy and his country's strategic importance in Africa and on the world stage.

It is within Zuma's call to decide on personal matters like polygamy on which he has been candid and forthcoming. One cannot begrudge a man who opts to follow the dictates of his culture. However, personal indiscretions and a poor judgement should not be excused.

Simply put, Zuma's conduct must befit the standing of his office and serve as a role model as the head of Africa's signature republic. The choice is easy and obvious but one that calls for serious soul searching.

Gichinga Ndirangu is a lawyer and policy analyst