African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma’s personal adviser, Elias Khumalo, has hit back at Archbishop Desmond Tutu for publicly attacking Zuma’s integrity, saying the archbishop is growing old and suffers from “selective amnesia”.

In what amounts to Zuma’s first response to the speech, Khumalo said Tutu needed to get his facts right before publicly attacking the African National Congress deputy president, who had apologised to South Africans on national television for having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman half his age.

Khumalo also accused Tutu of double standards in criticising Zuma over HIV/Aids while ignoring the Aids deviancy of President Thabo Mbeki and Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

The archbishop “had found it so easy to accept the apology from the apartheid government that committed unspeakable atrocities against millions of South Africans”, yet now “cannot find it in his heart to accept the apology from this humble man who has erred”.

In his Harold Wolpe memorial lecture in Cape Town last week, Tutu urged Zuma to drop out of the ANC presidential succession race, citing his sexual irresponsibility and his supporters’ conduct.

The Mail & Guardian understands Khumalo penned the impassioned response the day after Tutu’s address, and forwarded it to Zuma, who considered it over the weekend before its release on Sunday.

A source said that while Zuma had “carefully gone through the statement”, he would not release it under his name because he wanted to avoid a direct public confrontation with the archbishop.

Khumalo said he found it strange that a churchman with impeccable struggle credentials could query Zuma’s “unquestionable” patriotism. He had “joined the struggle to liberate South Africa from oppression and apartheid at an early age — relinquishing the right to education which [Tutu] so comfortably enjoyed”.

The statement stresses Zuma’s role in the liberation movement, saying he led the first ANC team that paved the way for settlement negotiations and the return of exiles.

“The same Zuma that the archbishop doubts … loves his country … played a central role in ending violence in KwaZulu-Natal and bringing the right-wing Constand Viljoen to the negotiating table.

“We know that the archbishop is growing old by day, but these facts cannot be ignored.”

Khumalo said that Tutu’s claim that Zuma did “nothing to stop the unruly behaviour of his supporters” outside his rape trial was a “display of a high degree of ignorance”.

“[Using] every available opportunity to address the crowd or masses, be it students or workers, directly or through the radio, Zuma clearly articulated his thoughts and displeasure at the behavior of his supporters concerning a range of issues.”

He also lashed out at Tutu for saying he would “not be able to hold my head high if a person with such supporters were to become my president, someone who did not think it necessary to apologise for engaging in casual sex without taking proper precautions in a country that is being devastated by this horrendous HIV pandemic”.

“This statement comes as a surprise considering the archbishop is today led by a president who holds a particular [unorthodox] view when it comes to matters of HIV/Aids and also has a minister of health who holds her own [controversial] views on this matter.

“Tutu has never done anything tangible to show that he differs with his [Mbeki’s] leadership on the issue of HIV/Aids, yet has the audacity to make such comments. Society at large had accepted Zuma’s apology.”

The response also criticises Tutu for not approaching Zuma and discussing his concerns with him privately instead of “judging him on a public platform”.

“The archbishop acknowledges that Zuma is a nice and approachable person, yet made no efforts to meet [him] to discuss his concerns privately.

“One would have thought the archbishop, as a man of God, is familiar with the scriptures and knows that he is not in any position to judge, unless … the teachings of the Bible do not matter to him any more.”

Khumalo scoffs at Tutu’s suggestion that South Africa’s president should be directly elected by the people: “It is quite obvious that the archbishop does not have his finger on the pulse of South African masses, for it is certain [in direct elections] that Zuma will be the victor.”