This week Maharaj again cut a tragic figure, but for a very different reason. There he was, on the witness stand at the Hefer commission, bumbling his way through what he must have known was nonsensical testimony. It was inevitable that under relentless cross-examination by the country's top lawyers, he would wilt.
Remember the days when, as inaugural transport minister, Mac Maharaj insisted that he would continue to drive his beat-up old Jetta? It struck a chord, for it spoke of a government that would live comfortably yet simply. Those days died quickly as the new democrats dusted off old protocol books designed for a venal order.
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) plans to ask the Public Protector to investigate whether the Scorpions' investigating unit has a political agenda and is abusing its power, the league said on Monday. Spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the ANCYL was in the process of making an appointment with the Public Protector to discuss its concerns.
Jacob Zuma, the populist politician, humiliated President Thabo Mbeki with a sweeping victory in the election for leader of the African National Congress on Tuesday night. Zuma, who survived a rape trial and his dismissal as the country's deputy president by Mbeki over corruption allegations, took 60% of the nearly 4Â 000 votes at the party's national conference.
Delegates to the African National Congress's Polokwane conference, some of them weary after driving through the night from other parts of the country, began registering shortly after 10am on Saturday. Registration is taking place in a cavernous and hot aircraft hangar at the Gateway Airport north of Polokwane.
The Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions) did not act improperly as suggested by the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana said on Thursday. The ANCYL lodged a complaint with his office stating that the Scorpions held an "inappropriate" meeting.
