Apart from toying with our emotions, Cyril Ramaphosa has also been taking refuge in imprecise language, using words such as "transition", code for chaperoning Jacob Zuma out of power, hopefully with his agreement.
But it's a ruse that the wily old fox seems to have seen through. According to snippets from his meeting with the ANC top brass on Sunday, Zuma wasn't falling for the trick. What did they mean by "transition", he asked the esteemed delegation begging him to go quietly.
Such inoffensive language seeks to sugar-coat an unpleasant outcome. Being evicted from office will obviously be extremely painful and humiliating for Zuma no matter how one may want to characterise it.
But could it be that Ramaphosa is also struggling with a transition of his own - from obsequious underling to the headstrong honcho plotting the political demise of his former boss? How can one be a servant one day and a master the next? Or play both roles interchangeably, which Ramaphosa seems to be doing.The constitution has no specific role for a deputy president, except to be at the beck and call of the president or to step in should the president be unable to fulfil his duties. In reality, he has less influence than ordinary members of the cabinet who manage huge budgets. The job is simply to wait for the president.
Many are surprised that the ANC is making such heavy weather of getting rid of Zuma, when recalling Thabo Mbeki a decade ago was a stroll in the park. But Zuma had a lot going for him in his battle against Mbeki. He emerged from the Polokwane conference with a clear majority in the NEC. And, crucially, Zuma's good fortune was that he had already publicly fallen out with Mbeki. He was out of Mbeki's administration; their relationship was hostile and distant. Zuma could plot and hatch his plans away from his enemy's prying eyes.
Ramaphosa is in Zuma's cabinet and therefore inside the tent. Which seems to have suited Zuma just fine. As Lyndon Johnson once said of J Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI: "Better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside pissing in."
Ramaphosa's challenge is how to play the loyal lieutenant while encouraging the boss to commit political hara-kiri. It is not only not easy but hypocritical to pretend to like each other in public while privately sticking a knife in each other's backs. Ramaphosa's proximity to his quarry complicates his mission.
But he seems to be struggling to transition from the fawning deputy to the ruthless operator who'd require no invitation to wield the big axe with some relish. For instance, this week, after Zuma's refusal to vacate his office on Sunday, the national working committee called a special NEC meeting for Wednesday, at which Zuma was certain to be recalled. The die was cast. The country was on tenterhooks.The suspense was palpable. Finally, finally, Zuma was going to get his just deserts.
But, inexplicably, Ramaphosa cancelled the NEC. No explanation was given. In other words, Ramaphosa had Zuma on the ropes with a loaded gun to his head, but decided not to go ahead with the execution. Instead he entered into an elaborate negotiation with his victim about a less painful manner of putting him to sleep. Ramaphosa didn't deem it necessary to explain to an increasingly frustrated nation why this stay of execution was necessary, or even the substance of their negotiations.
It was left to Jessie Duarte, a known Zuma partisan, to relay a message of sorts. "Ramaphosa sounds extremely happy," she cooed, oddly. One suspects Duarte was beside herself with joy. Her hero had once again miraculously dodged the bullet. One is left wondering whether it is Zuma's guile or Ramaphosa's gullibility that led to this unnecessary impasse.
The opaque language is in keeping with the secrecy with which this matter has been handled. Obviously a fair amount of confidentiality is required when dealing with an issue of this magnitude. But those in charge need to understand that they're not negotiating private business deals that should be jealously shielded from unscrupulous competitors; that the country's millions have a stake in the outcome. It is their future that is being decided, and they need to be kept informed.
And why was it necessary for the ANC top six to meet Zuma at night? It's almost as if it was done to portend what was to come - and sure enough, the country has been kept in the dark ever since. When something eventually filtered out, it was whispered behind closed doors - by Paul Mashatile at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town. Odd that mining magnates, including foreigners, were privy to information denied to ordinary South Africans.
If Ramaphosa wants to bring about a true transition - not the mere mechanical transfer of power from one individual to another - he will have to work on a cultural and political change in behaviour and attitude, especially by those in authority. Keeping society informed is not an unwelcome inconvenience, but an important part of the job.Only dictators deem it necessary to keep people in the dark. It was distasteful, for instance, to see Jackson Mthembu taking a reporter to task for daring to ask him a question.
One would hope that Ramaphosa's missteps are not an indication of his reign. He's appeared tentative and gentle, and seems comfortable leading from behind.
He's lucky, though, that he's taking over from Zuma. It won't require a genius to clean up after him...