President Thabo Mbeki tugged constantly at the bottom right-hand edge of his seven-page text last Tuesday as he explained to Parliament and the people why he had “released” Deputy President Jacob Zuma from his post.

It was as if he wanted to turn the pages quickly and be done with the dreadful job of sacrificing a comrade to save a nation and its democracy.

Mbeki stumbled uncharacteristically over his words as he came to the paragraph, close to the end of his 15-minute address, in which he announced the decision that most in the National Assembly knew he had come to deliver.

“As President of the republic, I have come to the conclusion that the circumstances dictate that in the interest of the honourable deputy president, the government, our young democratic system and our country, it would be best to release the honourable Jacob Zuma from his responsibilities as deputy president of the republic and member of the Cabinet,” he said.

Silence hung in the vast oval chamber as he drew breath for the final minutes of his speech.

In the ANC benches and the public gallery — packed mainly with parliamentary staff — a few heads shook in disbelief.

But most of the ruling party members stared straight ahead as Mbeki wrapped up with a tribute to his colleague of 30 years, whom he had tried and failed over the previous 10 days to persuade to fall on his own sword.

Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel were first on their feet to applaud as Mbeki returned glumly to his yellowwood bench.

Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon offered the rare tribute of a standing ovation for the President. Opposition members murmured their approval.

But the applause from Speaker Baleka Mbete, alone on the bench that she used to share with Zuma, was barely polite and she stared straight ahead as Mbeki walked within inches of her on his way back to his seat.

The applause died quickly. In contrast to the usual throng around Mbeki after a keynote address, ministers and MPs mainly scattered away from him towards the doors.

In the public gallery, a provincial legislator who had walked across from the Western Cape Parliament noted that ANC members filed out largely in silence, as though afraid to show their feelings.

After a moment’s hesitation, Mbeki headed for a less used door, shaking hands with Chief Whip Mbulelo Goniwe in the bench behind him, with Deputy Chief Whip Andries Nel and, ironically, with Zuma’s parliamentary counsellor, John Jeffrey, on his way out.

ANC chairman and Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota raced to catch up, but Mbeki walked alone from the chamber after what must have been the most difficult speech of his life.

Like most of his major statements, Mbeki’s address was carefully crafted and devoid of the headline-making soundbites he is known to hate.

He spoke of judicial independence and respect for the judiciary, which was in sharp contrast to the criticism of militant youth leaders. He also sought to draw a line between the primary defence contracts for ships, planes and submarines and the now clearly tainted secondary contracts for their equipment.

But unlike almost every other address of significance, he spoke largely in the first person, taking individual responsibility for the decision that quickly proved as unpopular as he must have feared and more so than he must have hoped.

Analysts have pondered his habit of speaking mainly of “we” when he announces a policy. Commentators have teased him for using the collective pronoun even to describe an individual action like waving.

But on Tuesday, despite some lapses that had him mixing “I” and “we” in a single thought, he avoided the disguise of collective action.

At a news conference less than an hour later, Zuma said: “My conscience is clear ... I have not committed any crime against the state or the people of South Africa.”

With acknowledgements to Brendan Boyle and the Sunday Times.