SOUTH AFRICA:The man known as "JZ" has inspired a fanatical following, writes Joe Humphreysin Pretoria
Controversial is too mild a term to describe Jacob Zuma, the politician poised to become South Africa's next president.
The little educated former combatant, he is a proud polygamist and unapologetic populist with a convicted fraudster for a best friend, and a string of corruption allegations hanging over his head. Nelson Mandela he is not.
Known to his supporters fondly as "JZ", he is being investigated by the state for allegedly receiving bribes and other illegal payments totalling 3.5 million rand (€350,000).
Last year he successfully fought off rape charges, but not without suffering severe damage to his reputation. In court, he admitted to having unprotected sex with a woman whom he knew to be HIV-positive. He also said he had a shower after intercourse because he believed it would help him avoid catching Aids - an admission of criminal ignorance in a country with the highest incidence of HIV in the world.
Zuma (65) was born in the rural, eastern province now known as KwaZulu-Natal. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1959, a year before it was banned, and at the age of 20 enlisted in the party's military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation).
He was subsequently arrested for threatening to overthrow the government and imprisoned for 10 years on Robben Island at a time when Mandela was jailed there too.
On his release, Zuma went into exile and helped to rebuild the underground guerilla movement in Swaziland and Mozambique. He later became chief of the ANC's intelligence department.
After the ban on the ANC was lifted, he returned to South Africa and tried to broker peace between the party's supporters in Zululand and the rival Inkatha Freedom Party. Zuma is credited with helping to dampen tensions during this period, but he was unable to stop outbreaks of sporadic violence which left hundreds of people dead.
He subsequently became chairman of the ANC KwaZulu-Natal branch, and was appointed deputy president of the party in 1997 when Thabo Mbeki came to power.
Ironically, Mbeki had helped to promote him to the post, having favoured him over other, more powerful rivals.
Zuma's career took a major blow in 2005 when his financial adviser Schabir Shaik was sentenced to 15 years in jail for fraud. The presiding magistrate, Hilary Squires, was quoted as citing a "generally corrupt relationship" between Shaik and Zuma.
The judge later denied using this phrase, saying Zuma had not been on trial, but few disputed its veracity.
Zuma was sacked from government by Mbeki, and a large-scale investigation into the deputy president's affairs was launched by South Africa's FBI-style Scorpions.
Things got worse for Zuma when he was charged with raping the daughter of a family friend - a woman half his age. He was acquitted in 2006 after a case that provided a disturbing insight into his sexual mores.
Among other things, Zuma suggested in court that a woman wearing a kanga - a traditional African skirt - was looking for intercourse, and that men from his "tradition" were bound by honour not to turn down an offer of sex.
This from a politician who had once led the South African government's "moral regeneration" programme.
Zuma's private life remains a matter of speculation, having taken at least four "wives", one of whom has died and another of whom - current foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma - divorced him. He has reportedly fathered 20 children by nine women.
As for his political ideology, he has been cautious to commit himself to the left-wing policies of his primary backers, the trade union umbrella group Cosatu and the South African Communist Party.
In recent weeks, however, he has called for both Aids and crime to be declared "national emergencies", saying there should be discussions about a referendum aimed at reintroducing the death penalty.
He has also indicated that he would review Mbeki's much-maligned policy of "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe.
As leader of the ANC, he is almost guaranteed to become president of South Africa in 2009 when Mr Mbeki steps down after two terms - the maximum permitted under the constitution. The only thing stopping Zuma from then moving into Union Buildings would be a possible jailing for alleged corruption.
Charges are due to be brought against him early next year, but Zuma has already said that he won't resign as leader of the ANC, as "it would mean that I plead guilty before even going to court".