Foreign investors, tourists, and FIFA (which organizes the World Cup) are three constituencies that South Africans fear will turn their backs on their country if crime and fears of crime (not the same thing) continue to dominate stories that emanate from South Africa. Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula is aware of the very real consequences of perceptions and realities of crime, and in response he has begun a public relations campaign to convince the world that South Africa is getting crime under control. Opposition leaders want Nqakula to do the same within South Africa. Similarly, President Thabo Mbeki is out to prove that he is not a “crime denialist.” He placed crime front and center in his Freedom Day address last month.
Nqakula, Mbeki and the leaders of the Democratic Alliance and other parties want to change the perceptions the world (and other South Africans) have about the country's safety. Nonetheless, stories with headlines like “Naked man superglued to exercise bike“are not likely to help. Amusing, sure, but also horrifying — basically intruders hijacked the victim at gunpoint, made him bring them to his home, made him strip, superglued him to his exercise bike and also glued his hands together and his mouth shut, and robbed him. His partner came home three hours later to rescue him. This is likely not the sort of story that is going to reassure the solons at FIFA.
