Do the right thing, and South Africans will love you. It is just who we are. We are generous with our praise. We are moved by people who do good for others. We don’t care what your politics are, or what your race is, so long as you are doing something positive for SA.

When Julius Malema was standing up against Jacob Zuma’s corruption and outsourcing of the country to the Gupta family, when he stood up in parliament and demanded that Zuma “pay back the money” that was wasted on building the man a mythical “fire pool” at his shoddy, tasteless palace in Nkandla, the country applauded. This was about holding those in power accountable, and the goodwill directed towards Malema and his fellow EFF parliamentarians was because virtually every right-thinking South African could see the truth...