The night before Jacob Zuma appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court, I noted the palpable anger of those who had sacrificed the comfort of their bedrooms to pledge solidarity with the axed former deputy president. Battle lines were drawn between those who endorsed President Thabo Mbeki’s decision to relieve Zuma of his duties and those who were aggrieved that Zuma had been treated shabbily by comrades he had trusted for decades.

Zuma supporters were portrayed as irresponsible hotheads who did not appreciate that Mbeki had to act against corruption at all levels of government and reassure the international community that SA would lead by example as it championed the rebirth of the continent.

Mbeki acolytes in the province dismissed protests against Zuma’s axing as the work of misguided individuals who would, in due course, be disciplined by African National Congress (ANC) structures. There were no divisions in the organisation, they maintained, and Zuma’s woes would be explained away.

But the tide has turned. No less a person than the ANC chairman in KwaZulu-Natal, premier Sbu Ndebele, has pledged to be there personally to support Zuma in court tomorrow. At the last vigil and in court the following day, many wondered why their leader in the province was not with them. Perhaps that should not have surprised them because the mood was frighteningly anti-Mbeki, and Ndebele had already declared his choice for future leader of the ANC. It was not Zuma.

The ANC in the province has sought to perpetuate for public consumption the lie that the organisation is not divided on this issue. “There is one ANC, with one president and one deputy president,” has been the chant. Now, for 24 hours at least, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal will try to stage a show to convince the public and the media that there is “one ANC”. Living through that lie poses challenges that go beyond the charade.

Those who support Zuma believe there is a political conspiracy to undermine his prospects of becoming president of the ANC and of the country. They believe he has been targeted for persecution to make way for others who belong to an opposing camp which has its own — and worse — skeletons in the cupboard.

Those who support Mbeki believe he did the right thing in getting rid of somebody who had been so compromised by his debts that he would have been a liability to the country if he had ascended to the highest office.

In simple terms, Zuma is either a hero or a villain. It is beyond me how the ANC in the province can convince the public that it is necessary to come out in huge numbers to sympathise with Zuma while at the same time applauding the president for acting against him.

Naturally, the ANC is attempting to give leadership in a time of crisis and wants the anger to be channelled properly. If the organisation has its way, it should be possible to support Zuma and not be anti-Mbeki. As the leadership here says, the night vigil is to support Zuma and not to rally against anyone else.

Interestingly, the organisation is not providing free transport, as is the norm for most of its activities designed to show support. That is understandable. Many benefactors must be lying low these days lest they leave fresh tracks for the Scorpions, who have a lot of interest in businesspeople who are generous with their cash for no apparent reason.

Only last week, a prominent Pietermaritzburg businessman apologised profusely to Ndebele for raising funds to throw him a birthday party. According to Ndebele, the initiative embarrassed him because in all his years in government he had never asked for monetary donations.

Now, when leaders distance themselves from donations, it is to be expected that there will be no free buses or T-shirts for comrades in the near future.

The erstwhile political activists who came in their expensive vehicles last time Zuma appeared in court should be there tonight.

Their anger suggested that they were prepared to go down with Zuma, although I do not know how generously they have contributed to the trust fund to support him.

I hope enough has been raised to buy at least more of those “Zuma 100%” T-shirts. I just have this feeling that although there is one ANC in the province, some of the leaders will feel and look as comfortable in them as I would in a bikini. Which is why I am not a politician.

Madlala is editor and publisher of umAfrika.

With acknowledgements to Cyril Madlala and the Business Day.