South Africa's President Sows (Another) Sex Scandal

(Feb. 2) -- John Edwards might have reason to feel a little jealous of Jacob Zuma right now. The South African president has faced many accusations of sleazy behavior during his 20-year-long political career, from corrupt business dealings (the charges were withdrawn) to having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman (which he admitted). Yet his popularity in South Africa appears to be surviving even the latest addition to his scandal sheet: the revelation that last year he fathered a child – rumored to be his 20th – with a woman who is neither his fiancee nor one of his three current wives.

According to South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper, Sonono Khoza, 39 – the daughter of Irvin Khoza, the chief organizer of the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa and a close friend of Zuma's – gave birth to a girl in October, three months before the president wed for the fifth time. The paper added that Zuma was believed to have paid his former lover "inhlawulo," a traditional Zulu form of compensation handed over when a child is born out of wedlock.

Opposition politicians condemned the African National Congress leader's bed-hopping antics as unpresidential. "We recommend Zuma goes for sex addiction therapy as Tiger Woods did," said Christian Democrat Kenneth Meshoe.

Other parliamentarians pointed out that Zuma is sending the wrong message to his fellow countrymen and women, about 5 million of whom are infected with HIV/AIDS – the highest number of any nation in the world. Although the president was praised for increasing the availability of lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs after his election last year, opposition parties say his behavior is now undermining campaigns to raise awareness of the benefits of condom use and faithfulness.

"South Africa now has a president who, both through his words and actions, is doing similar damage to the struggle against HIV/AIDS – a life-and-death struggle for millions of South Africans," said Helen Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance. "President Zuma's behavior directly contradicts the government's campaign against multiple sexual partners, and the inherent AIDS risk in having unprotected sex."

Zuma, who defends his right to have more than one wife as part of his Zulu culture, has yet to comment on the revelations, although the ANC issued a statement Monday confirming that he had fathered a child.

"There is nothing wrong that the president has done. There is nothing shameful when two adults have a relationship," said ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu. "By being involved with any other person, President Zuma is not guilty of any offense and he has not breached our constitution or any of our laws."

With Zuma's approval ratings still sitting comfortably above 50 percent, most ordinary South Africans seem disposed, at least for now, to agree with that verdict.