I'm Gonna Wash That AIDS Right Outta My Hair

David Weigel | April 5, 2006

Here's a story that reveals plenty about the problems African societies face in controlling the spread of AIDS. South African politician Jacob Zuma, on trial for an alleged rape, had shocked AIDS prevention campaigners when he testified he'd had unprotected sex because "chances were very slim" that a man could contract HIV from a woman. He followed up that testimony by claiming that after sex with an HIV-positive woman, he had taken a shower to "minimise the risk of contracting the disease."

Before this trial, one of Zuma's political jobs was heading up the National Aids Council and the Moral Regeneration Campaign.

John Blundell offered a more optimistic take on South Africa's problems in the August/September 2004 issue of Reason.