Perceptions of Eastern Cape Rural Citizens on the Zuma-led Faction's Nativist Discourse in South Africa

This article examines how the politics of nativism has been used by former President Jacob Zuma and his faction in the African National Congress (ANC) to maintain power particularly in rural areas. The article also reports on a study of responses to the nativist discourse employed by the Zuma-led faction in the ANC. The study analyses the responses of twenty interviews with knowledgeable participants, aged eighteen and above who lived in Ngcobo local district of the Chris Hani rural district of Eastern Cape province in South Africa. The province is one of the strongholds of ANC since the dawn of democracy. The article adopts an interpretivist methodological approach positioned within the spectrum of post-colonial theory which rejects use of structural frameworks and Western paradigms being used to understand the post-independence African states. The article, therefore, contributes to the literature by revealing that Zuma exploited historical factors related to the oppression and inhumane treatment of blacks by whites during apartheid so as to maintain popularity in rural areas. Notably, the horrors of apartheid are still fresh in the minds of the older generation. Evidently, this article revealed that the discourse connected more to the older generation who could relate whereas the younger generation could not relate to the nativist discourse.