During her appearance on Podcast and Chill with MacG this week, DA Federal Council Chair Helen Zille addressed what she described as “manufactured truths” around her “colonialism” tweet.
Among other interesting topics, such as uncovering the story of Steve Biko’s death as a journalist, she also shared her views on the country’s various presidents since 1994.
Podcast host Macgyver Mukwevho, aka MagG, started his deep-dive interview on a jovial note with a quip about his recent snorkelling experience in Mauritius.
Helen Zille sets record straight on 2017 tweet
MacG then went on to bring up “Godzille’s” controversial tweet in 2017 that not everything about colonialism was negative. According to him, her tweet was understood to imply that “life was better under apartheid”.
An indignant Zille clapped back, promising the podcast host “a million rand” if he could prove that she actually tweeted those exact words.
‘Even under Zuma, the country was better than under apartheid’
“The country was much better after apartheid and even under Jacob Zuma, the country was better than under apartheid,” she stated.
Zille has previously weighed in on the country under Zuma’s reign, pointing out that the former president and Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader wasn’t solely responsible for state capture.
Colonisation: ‘Take what you can build on’
In the podcast, she continued to provide some context to the tweet, such as the call for the decolonisation of universities at the time.
“I said the legacy of colonialism is not only negative. Obviously that means a hell of a lot was negative, but let’s keep the stuff that wasn’t.”
She added that things like formal education, hospitals, hot water, science and electricity generation were all legacies.
“I was saying take what you inherit from the past, even if a lot of the past was bad, and take what you can build on and make it better.”
When asked by MacG to rate South Africa’s democratically elected presidents, Zille answered that “the guy I got on best with was the worst president”.
‘You do not know how charming Jacob Zuma is’ – Helen Zille
The DA politician described Jacob Zuma as “charming” and even recollected when the former president—who confessed to her that he enrolled at Arthur Murray in Durban for dance classes—taught her how to waltz.
“You do not know how charming Jacob Zuma is,” the former Western Cape premier stated.
“He is the only politician who defended me when I was accused of being a racist and colonialism apologist.
“My party wanted to ‘donder’ me right out of the door for saying that [the ‘colonialism’ tweet]…Because other people had interpreted the way you did,” continued Zille.
“He [Zuma] called me and said, ‘What they are doing to you is wrong. Really wrong’,” she told MacG in reference to Zuma’s “thoughtfulness”.
Zuma ‘worst president’; Mbeki ‘strongest’ – Zille
In a News24 opinion piece when Zuma was incarcerated at the Estcourt Correctional Facility for contempt of court in 2021, Zille reflected on her “arch political opponent” being “unfailingly warm and humane in his treatment” of her personally.
Despite praising his “kindness,” she rated the “traditionalist” Zuma as the country’s “worst president,” with Thabo Mbeki—who “doubled the economy’s growth in his 10 years”—as” the “strongest president”.
Stuck on an island: Mbeki or Ramaphosa?
Zille chose Mbeki when asked by the popular podcast host who she would rather be stuck on an island with: President Cyril Ramaphosa or Mbeki?
She explained her choice by saying:
“We could have a tough debate. Thabo has courage of his convictions and is deeply intellectual… We had very interesting conversations when he was president and I was head of the DA.”
Mandela ‘brilliant’ as ‘Saint Nelson’
She emphasised that every president needs to be viewed in context, stating that Nelson Mandela’s role was to be “Saint Nelson”.
“We needed a Mother Teresa-type of figure who would just rise above everything and bring us together. For that role he had to play at the time, he was brilliant.”
