brigade
A tactical error in taking on Thabo Mbeki lies behind the Gauteng premier’s decision to quit politics, write Mail & Guardian Reporters
TOKYO SEXWALE decided to quit politics when avenues to advancement within the ruling African National Congress had been blocked after he was on the losing end of a power contest with Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.
The Mail & Guardian has pieced the story together on the basis of interviews with figures inside the ANC during recent weeks.
The ambitious premier, who was touted as a leader of national, if not international stature, committed a tactical error when he went one-on-one against Mbeki.
The critical turning point came in September last year when he was involved in a public spat with Mbeki over claims that the deputy president had ordered National Party leader FW de Klerk to investigate rumours that Sexwale was involved in drug- trafficking.
In the wake of the furore, two peace meetings were held between the two at the ANC’s head office, Shell House, to broker a truce. Despite agreeing to join Mbeki in a damage-control exercise, Sexwale continued to give reporters his side of the story.
This compounded the fact that he lost much backing within the ANC when he went to the press with the allegations against Mbeki in the first place. The organisation prefers to sort its problems out internally.
This is seen as an indication of Sexwale’s political naivety – that he expected other ANC leaders to join him in his battle against Mbeki.
From his side, Sexwale was apparently hurt that he had been fighting a lone battle last year against renegade former ANC MP Bantu Holomisa, without the backing of his party.
But Sexwale’s problem was broader. He failed to capitalise on his charismatic populist following and pull in significant constituency support within the ANC against Mbeki, who is a master of insider politics.
Sexwale’s popularity flowed from his close association with slain South African Communist Party chief Chris Hani. In the wake of the Hani assassination, many young comrades saw Sexwale as a potential successor to their champion.
However, he was increasingly criticised within the movement as a leader with much style but little substance. He was never regarded as one of the great political thinkers in the ANC, and there has been a long-standing animosity between him and the communist party.
The feeling within the ANC’s conservative hierarchy was that Sexwale had been given too much publicity too quickly, and his populist appeal riled Mbeki. Sexwale’s bid to challenge Mbeki for the presidency of the ANC petered out.
Sexwale, for his part, expressed disillusionment at the power politics within the ANC. Even though he was critical of the manner in which former ANC secretary general Cyril Ramaphosa quit politics last year, he has increasingly seen himself as a leader in the same mould.
Sexwale believes he is a victim of Mbeki’s intolerance of rivals within the party. In the past 18 months, virtually all other potential contenders to the ANC’s throne have been sidelined.
The most striking examples are Pallo Jordan, whose profile has dropped to below zero as minister of environment affairs, and Cyril Ramaphosa, who has also taken the business route. Jordan this week would not comment on Sexwale’s perceptions.
Sexwale has also often expressed doubt to his inner circle that Mbeki is up to the job of running the country. “The president’s shoes are huge and Thabo has tiny feet,” is a quote that is often overheard.
He felt that if things did get rocky under Mbeki, he didn’t see why he shouldn’t be called upon to bail him out.
The former Umkhonto weSizwe commander has also found himself moving increasingly in business circles. His wife Judy, to whom he is devoted, is a successful businesswoman and there has been a growing interaction between the Sexwale family and captains of industry who have been suggesting the business world opens wider vistas for him.
This has led to criticism from some of those who were close to him, who say Sexwale is increasingly more at home with the “tuxedo brigade than the tracksuit brigade”. The business opportunities which will open to him will also relieve Sexwale of the burdens of constituency politics.
His constituency work was regarded as flashy, based largely on his extraordinary charisma and good looks. He is regarded as an American-style politician and his talkshow on Radio 702 alienated some ANC leaders who have no adeptness with the politics of photo opportunities and soundbites.
When word got out in recent weeks that he was considering quitting politics, pressures from business suitors forced Sexwale to bring forward the announcement that he was resigning.
Excitement about the imminent recruitment into its ranks has been felt within JCI since last week. The corporation’s chairman, Mzi Khumalo, while close to Mbeki, realised Sexwale would be an extraordinary asset for the company. He has a broad range of contacts on the African continent which will assist in JCI’s attempts to move into the continent in a bigger way – an intention signalled by the company’s interest in Lonrho.
After the De Klerk drugs debacle last year, it was clear a career in national politics had been cut off for Sexwale.
If he had sought a parliamentary position, Sexwale would have been relegated to the backbenches because the possibility of getting into Mbeki’s Cabinet was regarded as slim at best.
At the same time, his Gauteng power base has been dwindling, in part at least because the provincial premiership is no longer as sexy a position as it was in 1994. Local government, particularly in Johannesburg, is growing in importance and encroaching on Sexwale’s preserve.
The Gauteng government has been seen to have failed in the war against crime, and despite Sexwale’s contacts and appeal, he failed to bring in significant investment from outside.