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ANC to Decide Mbeki's Fate after Judge's Verdict |
| Publication |
Sunday Times |
| Date | 2008-09-13 |
| Reporter |
Moipone Malefane Paddy Harper Mpumelelo Mkhabela Charles Molele |
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Web Link |
Hour of power: A triumphant Jacob Zuma after the verdict this
week. Picture: James Oatway
'Some of our members are suggesting that he should not be a member of the party'
Mbeki must fall on his sword or we will push him onto it
ANC leaders lash president as enemies move to oust him
The ANC and its alliance partners will decide whether to oust President
Thabo Mbeki in a series of meetings starting this week.
In the wake of a damning High Court judgment that
got Mbeki's bitter foe *1
Jacob Zuma off the hook *2 on Friday, tomorrow the ANC's national working
committee (NWC) will be the first to discuss Mbeki's fate ahead of the party's
crucial national executive committee (NEC) meeting, which starts on Friday.
Cosatu and the South African Communist Party also announced that they would
convene meetings this week to discuss Mbeki's future as president.
An ANC official told the Sunday Times that Mbeki would "be pushed on (to) his
sword if he can't fall on his sword".
Following this week's meetings, officials from all the three alliance partners
will meet on September 24 to formulate a common position to be presented to
Mbeki.
"The most obvious one would be to appoint a delegation that will go and see him
to ask him to step down," a senior ANC leader said.
In his judgment on Friday, Judge Chris Nicholson backed Zuma's claims of a
political conspiracy against him.
He said Mbeki and his cabinet had to take responsibility for abusing the
prosecuting authority to try to remove Zuma from the "titanic political
struggle" over the ANC presidency.
Likening Mbeki and his cabinet's behaviour to that of apartheid-era governments,
he said successive heads of the National Prosecuting
Authority had committed "a very serious criminal offence *3 " punishable
by up to 10 years in jail, by allowing Mbeki and his
justice ministers to influence them *4.
He had particularly harsh words for the NPA's
founding director, Bulelani Ngcuka, on whose watch the investigation into
Zuma began.
The judge said it was "very improbable" that former
justice minister Penuell Maduna was "on a frolic of his own" and would
have got involved in illegal attempts to nail Zuma "without the president
knowing and agreeing".
"In terms of the law, more especially emanating from the constitution, there is
responsibility attributable to the president" for Maduna and Mabandla's actions,
the judge said.
However, he emphasised that his ruling was not a judgment on Zuma's guilt or
innocence.
The ANC's secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, said on Friday that the NEC would
discuss the judge's comments.
The president of the MK Military Veterans' Association, Kebby Maphatsoe, said
yesterday the organisation was going to write to the ANC requesting that Mbeki
be recalled.
"The judgment has discredited Mbeki," he said.
The association's general secretary, Ayanda Dlodlo, who is also an ANC NEC
member, said: "The judge agrees with us that our president has been treated
unfairly. He never received support from cabinet and the past ANC leadership. He
was a loner amongst sharks."
ANC Youth League president Julius Malema who also sits on the party's NEC and
NWC said the party had to decide that Mbeki must go soon.
"We have said it before that he had a hand in our president being charged and
the judge has confirmed that. He must go now," he said.
Another NEC member said: "We would be talking differently if there was no
finding like an abuse of power. But why must Mbeki be entrusted with power when
he is abusing it? He has violated the constitution*6."
A member of the NWC said there was already an informal debate about
stripping Mbeki of his ANC membership. He said
Mbeki could face disciplinary action if he did not
resign.
"He could make our job easy so we don't find ourselves having to act against
him. Some of our members are already suggesting that he should not be a member
of the party.
"President Mbeki fired Zuma on the basis of inference *7.
Now Mbeki is being identified in the judgment as having been part of a
conspiracy against Zuma. There is no inference; it's a direct reference of his
abuse of power. You cannot have a judgment like that without consequences."
Should the NEC meeting agree on early elections, it means a general election
will possibly be held by February.
The constitution offers two ways to remove Mbeki from power.
There can be a vote of no confidence, which would need a majority of at least
201 of the 400 members of the National Assembly, or an early election could be
called.
The ANC holds 293 seats.
If Mbeki lost the vote, speaker Baleka Mbete would become acting president and
would need to convene parliament to elect a new president.
In the case of an early election, a majority of sitting MPs can vote that the
president must dissolve parliament. In that case, Mbeki would have 90 days to
call an election.
However, it appears more likely that the ANC and its alliance partners will go
for the vote of no confidence option.
Independent Democratic leader Patricia de Lille has also urged the ANC to call
for a motion of no-confidence in Mbeki and his cabinet.
The Public Protector, Lawrence Mushwana , said yesterday he felt vindicated by
Judge Nicholson.
The judge criticised Ngcuka for his statement in 2003 in which he said there was
prima facie evidence of corruption against Zuma although he would not prosecute
as the case was "unwinnable".
In 2005 Mushwana found Ngcuka had violated Zuma's rights with his statement.
Mushwana was castigated by Ngcuka and Maduna for his findings, which were tabled
in Parliament in 2004. Ngcuka and Maduna publicly attacked Mushwana, questioned
his intellect and accused him of having "no backbone".
Although they subsequently apologised, Mushwana wanted to take them to court for
contempt of his ruling.
Mbeki intervened, asking Mushwana not to take them to court because he would act
against them.
"Nobody came to our defence. We were hammered. The only time when the president
came out, but not in public, was when I wanted to charge them because in terms
of our act you could charge them for contempt of court," Mushwana revealed this
week.
"The president said I should not proceed because a court case would take long.
He would act."
"When we have this high crime rate in the country and you have this type of a
situation where someone can manipulate any state institution to their personal
end, it is quite scary. I think it's a wake-up call.
"I have nothing about Zuma becoming president or not, but if they wanted to
charge him, they should have charged him in 2003 *6.
Additional reporting by Ndivhuho Mafela
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With acknowledgements to Moipone Malefane, Paddy Harper, Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Charles Molele and Sunday Times.