Well we just kicked Zuma's dumbass to the curb. Yes racial history and lack of education of the population has kept him in power as long as he was, it's not all identity politics but parts of it are. I live in the western cape btw, the most diverse and likely the best educated (citation needed) province in the country, we've voted in black, white, coloured, indian premiers, mayors etc and our province has voted for the democratic party every election so far (the rest of the country votes ANC).
I mean you have a group of people not too far away from apartheid who never got an education, never got uplifted from the squalor they were forced into, being manipulated with apartheid era songs about killing white people as a rallying cry. Guy is a career criminal that made it to office most of the educated people in SA were deeply ashamed of him.