When he was fighting back after being fired as deputy president in 2005, Jacob Zuma revived the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) struggle song Awulethe Umshini Wami (bring me my machine gun) and made it his signature campaign tune. In ANC meetings, from Nkandla to Polokwane, he would lead lusty renditions of the song, his body shaking as he imitated the firing of an automatic weapon.

The song was originally composed to boost morale in ANC military camps and among anti-apartheid activists inside the country in the 1980s. It is a call to arms, an indication that you were prepared to take up arms for your beliefs...