Former president Nelson Mandela is leading a last-ditch attempt to save Deputy President Jacob Zuma, the Business Day website reported on Wednesday.
It said this came after President Thabo Mbeki said he would announce his decision on Zuma’s fate after his return from a two-day state visit to Chile.
Sources close to Zuma said Mbeki’s statement amounted to an ultimatum for Zuma to step down or be fired after the conviction last week of Durban businessman Schabir Shaik on corruption and fraud.
They said, however, that Zuma would not quit.
Mandela’s office confirmed on Tuesday that Mandela had been in touch with African National Congress leaders since the weekend over the matter.
Mandela’s spokesperson, Zelda le Grange, said Mandela had met senior government and ANC figures since Shaik was found guilty.
Durban High Court Judge Hilary Squires said in his judgement the relationship between Zuma and Shaik was ”generally corrupt”.
Le Grange would not be drawn on the outcome of Mandela’s meetings with the ANC top brass.
”Mandela is willing to give his opinion and advice to anyone in the ANC who needs it,” she said.
A source in the ANC said Mandela was the only mediator likely to be acceptable to both sides, since his primary interest would be to maintain ANC unity.
But the former president is reliably understood to have forced Mbeki onto the back foot on Monday, by making clear his support for Zuma after speaking to the deputy president, said Business Day.
An ANC national executive committee member said Zuma’s camp would be amenable to Mandela’s mediation efforts since relations between Zuma and Mbeki had reached an all-time low.
The Zuma camp believes Mbeki is behind efforts to sideline Zuma from the 2007 ANC succession race.
Zuma’s office on Tuesday said Zuma viewed Squires’ judgement and the buildup to Shaik’s trial as ”grossly unfair”.
”He believes the entire process has been grossly unfair — from the investigation conducted against him for three years to the outcome of the trial of Shaik, in which he has been practically found guilty in absentia,” spokesperson Lakela Kaunda said.
”He has his own account of the events referred to in the judgement and, as he said last week, he needs to study the judgement thoroughly before commenting in detail.” – Sapa