TOP OF THE POPS!

Soaring sales for pro-Zuma song.

A record backing South Africa's charged former deputy president, Jacob Zuma, has sold 50,000 copies. The album, by the group Izingane Zoma, is called Msholozi, Mr Zuma's clan name, which is used as a respectful way of addressing a leader. The record calls for Mr Zuma to be the next leader of South Africa and for charges against him to be dropped. Mr Zuma was sacked as deputy president last year and accused of corruption and rape, both of which he denies.

State broadcaster the South African Broadcasting Corporation decided last week to exclude the album's title track from its playlist over fears some lyrics could be read as "indirect incitement".
Everybody says they want Zuma to rule, to be the government of South Africa, but parliamentarians are refusing. Madiba [Mandela] said Zuma would become president at the end of his term. Charges against Zuma must be withdrawn so that he can lead government.

Translation of Msholozi lyricsSABC spokeswoman Lesego Mncwango said that the SABC had excluded the song from its playlist because the words were strong. But other radio stations have played the song - and sales have soared. "The sales have been tremendous in a very short time," a spokeswoman for the record company said. "We expect it to sell at least 100,000 by June because of all the controversy about the trial," she said. The distributors were selling the CD outside the High Court in Johannesburg on Monday, where hundreds of Mr Zuma's supporters gathered for the first day of his rape trial.

Izingane Zuma, made up of three Zulu women, is a big name in South Africa's traditional music scene. The group's marketing manager, Linda Sabelo, said the group had not intended to make a statement. "Our song is not political, we just write about what is happening and what people think," she said. But the song has caught the public mood, with one radio DJ suggesting a recording of a house version to better suit urban tastes. Mr Zuma, once seen as heir-apparent to the presidency, was one of South Africa's most popular politicians.

BBC NEWS REPORT.