MONDAY, 4.00PM:
WINNIE Madikizela-Mandela has entered the ANC leadership controversy by accusing “all the political parties in the country” of being in agreement to prevent her from becoming ANC deputy leader. She also made it clear that she has set her sights not only on deputy leader of the party, but also of the country.
Meanwhile the Mpumalanga region of the ANC said it was not going to change its decision to support premier Matthews Phosa for deputy president, despite attempts by Nelson Mandela to persuade him to step down (see below). A regional spokesman said Phosa had been chosen by election, and no ANC leader “immaterial of how high he is” could change this.
Reports over the weekend confirmed claims that Phosa came close to resigning last week (see below). The ANC leadership has swung behind Natal leader Jacob Zuma who has won the support of seven of the nine regions. The ANC Youth League, which initially supported Phosa, has also swung behind Zuma, leaving only the ANC Womens League behind Madikizela-Mandela.
FRIDAY, 11.00AM:
THE Sowetan reports on Friday morning that Mpumalanga Premier Mathews Phosa is considering quitting politics after being asked by President Nelson Mandela to step down as a candidate for the African National Congress deputy presidency in favour of ANC KwaZulu-Natal leader Jacob Zuma.
Phosa met Mandela on Monday, where he was apparently ordered to pull out of the race.
The ANC Youth League has also recently withdrawn its support of Phosa as deputy president in favour of Zuma. It is believed that the withdrawal comes after meetings with senior members of the National Executive Committee and ANC president-in-waiting Thabo Mbeki, who also apparently supports Zuma as his deputy president.
It is also believed that senior ANC leaders are keen to consolidate the race for the party’s deputy presidency to ensure ANC Women’s League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the league’s candidate for deputy president, does not succeed.