Letters

The continued victimisation of the new leader of the ANC by the pro-Thabo Mbeki National Prosecuting Authority could backfire on the government and plunge this beautiful country into a dangerous and brutal civil war similar to the one in Palestine between Muslim brothers in Fatah and Hamas.

Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and was formed as a supporting arm of the Palestine people in their struggle against Jewish occupation.

Fatah, the first Palestinian liberation organisation, was founded in the 1950s under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. How did the two liberation organisations become enemies?

Fatah, like Mbeki's government, failed to tackle corruption in the Palestinian Authority, and its leaders started distancing themselves from ordinary people in the street.

Hamas, the more militant of the two groups, gained popularity with ordinary Palestinians who felt their heroes in Fatah were sleeping with the enemy.

It did not come as a surprise when the so-called terrorists in Hamas contested the election and won, simply because the ordinary voters felt Hamas listened to their concerns, while the now pro-Western leaders of Fatah were enriching themselves.

South Africans do not want a jihad in their country, but if the anti-Zuma campaign continues, the Palestinian scenario cannot be ruled out. Zuma supporters will not accept a situation where justice is applied selectively to him while Mbeki has refused to have other corrupt government leaders prosecuted or arrested.

Zuma supporters are justified in feeling their hero is being victimised by some people in government who would not want to see him becoming the next president of South Africa.

Mbeki should also shoulder the blame for the crisis within the ANC and government.

I am not defending Zuma, but I, like many South Africans, feel the man was unfairly treated by the government and by the discredited Scorpions investigations unit which became a tool for the pro-Mbeki camp.

The Scorpions allowed themselves to be used by politicians in government against Zuma and his allies while failing to arrest known criminals.

What Mbeki and Msholozi should do now is to put their differences aside and work to unite ANC factions and South Africans.

Both leaders should also work together to assure investors and bogus analysts that Zuma will not nationalise industries like the King of the Shona tribe has done in Zimbabwe.

Investors in South Africa should stop worrying about what Zuma will do when he gets into power, but they should be concerned about rising violent crime.

Zuma is not a threat to society *1, but criminals and rapists are. Zuma has not killed anyone so far and I hope he will not in the future, and he needs the support of all South Africans. If South Africa disintegrates into another Mugabeland, Africa would be doomed.

South Africa is the heart and soul of sub-Saharan Africa and should not be allowed to disintegrate and become another Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe chased away all the white investors and nationalised mines and industries to please his cronies.

If there is civil strife in Mzansi caused by differences between two rival ANC camps, Fifa might be forced to cancel the World Cup and move somewhere else. I agree with Gwede Mantashe, the ANC secretary-general, that if the crisis continues and Zuma is charged while Mbeki protects his friends, there will be civil strife, if not war. Some prefer to call it mass uprising.

The voters at the Polokwane conference have spoken.They chose Zuma to lead the ANC, and Mbeki and his camp should accept the wishes of the majority. It's called democracy. Those who voted for Zuma don't care whether he does not have a degree. They just want Msholozi to be their leader. Some simply wanted a change of leadership.

Africa is tired of leaders who always cry foul when they lose elections. It's clear to me that Mbeki still wanted to lead the ANC after the expiry of his presidential term in 2009. Unlike Russia's Vladimir Putin, Mbeki was rejected by Polokwane voters. If he had won, he was going to continue running government from behind the scenes.

Zuma and his leftist friends should also focus on his security because South Africans would not want a repeat of what happened to Chris Thembisile Hani when he was shot by those who felt threatened by his pro-leftist views and alliances.

Mzimkhulu Maseko
Cape Town

With acknowledgement to Mzimkhulu Maseko and Cape Times.