Letters

Far from backing off from his conspiracy theory that he espoused a week ago that there is a plot within the African National Congress (ANC) to discredit Deputy President Jacob Zuma to prevent him from becoming SA's next president) David Gleason, in his October 25 column, now wants us to believe the situation is far worse than we imagined. According to him, the "conspiracy" within the ANC poses "the single biggest threat to the country's young democracy".

I am very surprised that, despite the seriousness of this threat, Gleason refuses to provide any evidence for it or to name any conspirator . How on earth can I man the barricades to defend our "young democracy" when he won't tell me who its enemies are?

Doesn't Gleason's refusal to provide evidence of the conspirators make him an accessory ? What precisely is it that these ANC conspirators are guilty of?

According to him, they are guilty because they "strategise urgently to influence the outcome of the party's choice as the next president".

I could have sworn that "strategising" is a perfectly legitimate and responsible form of political behaviour in the run-up to the election of a new party leader. It is called democracy at work.

With acknowledgements to Duncan Innes and the Business Day.