Publication: The Mercury
Issued:
Date: 2005-11-22
Reporter: The Editor
Reporter:
It
is ironic that it has taken a rape claim against the
ANC deputy president to damage him politically, rather than
his corruption trial.
Although Jacob Zuma and his supporters
maintain the rape allegation is part of a campaign to discredit him, the ANC NEC
has put paid to that.
Over the weekend it roundly rejected the notion
that there was a political conspiracy against him and while this related to the
corruption allegations, by implication it must relate to the rape charge too,
given that his supporters maintain it was part of a smear campaign.
While
he is innocent until proved otherwise, there can be no doubt that Zuma and his
camp have been politically weakened by the rape allegations. Even the normally
media-shy Commission for Gender Equality issued a rare statement pledging
solidarity with Zuma's alleged victim.
Zuma's sights on the presidency of
the ANC have suffered great harm, even if the police decide not to prosecute
him. Cracks have begun to show in his traditional support base, including Cosatu
and the SACP. The tsunami *1 which Cosatu
Secretary-General Zwelinzima Vavi predicted has been downgraded to a mere squall *1.
However, despite trying to pull the
wool over the public's eyes, the battle in the ANC is far from over. The unity
that the NEC statement tried to portray is as thin as the paper it is written
on. The ANC NEC acknowledged it had failed in giving leadership and
direction.
That in itself is an indictment of the party's top officials
and the rest of the elected members, including President Thabo Mbeki himself.
While the NEC came out in full support of Mbeki, the president has not showered himself in glory either. Two months ago the
pair said it was critical that the leadership should rise above the fray and
find mature ways of dealing with the challenges.
They failed. Both men
need to remove themselves from the succession debate and announce that they will
not be available for the top party office come 2007.
With acknowledgements to The Editor and The Mercury.
*1 The Comparison of the Water
Melon and the Blueberry.