He might have slipped through the noose of the courts on the rape count; might still do so on the corruption count and may even be on the safe side of a Constitution that fudges the issue of polygamy. But would he pass the test of leadership, bearing in mind that a leader should not only espouse but embody the highest ideals of any given country?

With the prospect of Jacob Zuma as our next chief executive in South Africa, maybe it's time we changed the electoral system in South Africa, to allow for direct presidential elections. This would really democratise the process and enable each and every South African to choose the country's chief executive. It would also allow for better separation of powers.

One funny thing I discovered in their elections was that the electorate donated funds for campaigns whilst here in Zambia it is the opposite; the candidates were seen donating to the electorate “corruption”.

I need to write this while it's all fresh. What a day! This morning I woke up and turned on the TV, to see John McCain giving his speech conceding defeat on the US presidentlal election. I must say, what a gracious speech it was. If nothing else, McCain is a good loser. Then about 20 minutes later, I watched Barack Obama's victory speech. I don't think of myself as particularly sentimental, but I couldn't stop a few tears from rolling down my cheeks.

The presentation also highlighted the issue of high costs involved in the use of mobile technology, this becomes a critical issue if mobile technology for citizen participation is rolled out on a large scale, for example if its use is adopted by a country. In such a case governments have to bear costs that come with that.

At present there's quite a heated debate going on in South Africa over a cartoon that appeared in the Sunday Times last Sunday.  The cartoon depicts Jacob Zuma, the president of the ANC and the man most likely to be the next president of South Africa. Zuma is seen undoing his trousers, while people representing the ANC, SACP, Cosatu and the ANC Youth League are holding down a woman, representing the justice system. The men are urging Zuma to rape the woman.

Inspired by the example of an American Congressman, and two Kenyan bloggers, I decided to make use of my democratic right as a South African. This week I attended a parliamentary committee meeting, to listen to submissions on a proposed amendment to the Broadcasting Act. I used my phone to take photos and short video and sound recordings. It was a powerful reminder of what democracy is all about.

I'm hopping mad. Zacob Zuma, the man who is likely to be South Africa's next president, is in court today, to try and ward off a corruption case against him. It's the latest in a long series of court appearances, as Zuma's lawyers try every tactic to avoid or postpone his corruption trial. That's not why I'm mad. I'm mad about the stance that Zuma's party, the ANC, is taking on the case.

It seems that all our state institutions in South Africa are being tested at the moment. They're all in crisis or under attack -- from the Human Rights Commission, to the Judiciary, to the national broadcaster. It's the toughest test our teenaged democracy has had, and its clearly time for us all to grow up and become adults.

I am becoming disillusioned with democracy. Elected leaders, all around the world, seem to be getting worse and worse. In London they've just elected Boris Johnson, a bigoted buffoon, as mayor. In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi was recently re-elected as prime minister. This is a man who is notoriously corrupt, and who in his previous terms in power ran the government like his private business empire.

I was quite disturbed to read two opinion pieces in the SA Sunday papers, on Zimbabwe, where the authors were basically defending Mugabe. The thing is, these writers have some valid points to make - but they go on to draw unjustifiable conclusions.

It goes like this: Snuki Zikalala is known as an Mbeki man, and he was suspended by Mpofu, who perhaps used to be an Mbeki man but is now apparently in the Zuma camp. Mpofu was then suspended by the Board, which is believed to be loaded with Mbeki supporters, and the board has been censured by the Parliamentary committee, which is full of Zuma's people.It's all rather like one of the SABC's own soap operas -- but any script-writer who wrote this plot would be told to change it -- it's too far fetched to be believed.