A decision by the African National Congress’ national general council (NGC) not to accept Jacob Zuma’s withdrawal from party structures gave him the go-ahead to accept nomination for president in 2007.
Based on the presumption of innocence, the party would have no grounds not to allow him to stand for the position, ANC national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota told reporters in Pretoria.
This would apply even if Zuma’s corruption trial had not been concluded by the time of the party’s next national conference in 2007.
”These things require that one has to act with absolute caution,” Lekota said.
Zuma is to face criminal charges after his financial advisor Schabir Shaik was convicted of fraud and corruption involving the former deputy president.
Lekota said Thursday’s NGC decision not to accept Zuma’s request to be excused from party duties was based on the principle of presuming an accused person’s innocence until proven otherwise.
The ANC’s national working committee (NWC) had initially granted Zuma’s request.
Based on Thursday’s decision, however, Zuma is to resume his functions in the national executive committee (NEC), NWC, deployment committee and at branch level.
The position of party deputy president, which Zuma retained, is not normally a salaried post, but Lekota said the NEC has been tasked with examining a possible change to that position.
Zuma is currently without an income — except for a pension derived from his former position as the nation’s deputy president and previous state representative positions he held since 1994.
ANC national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota said that the issue would be dealt with by the national executive committee in due course.
Meanwhile Lekota said Zuma had never been ”gagged” — as suggested by some of the media — by the national working committee of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress.
As the party struggled to deal with the strong support for Zuma on the floor of the national general council — the policy making conference being held at the University of Pretoria until Sunday — Lekota said that Zuma himself had requested that he be suspended from party activities until the end of the trial.
The decision by the national working committee to accede to his request had not been accepted by the national general council and thus he was free to carry out party work.
Lekota reported that Zuma himself had told delegates during the council closed session that he had made the request to be suspended from the national working committee.
But strong support from delegates to the council was displayed to allow Zuma to participate in all party activities. This has been widely viewed as a challenge to the leadership of President Thabo Mbeki who axed him — with the support of the national working committee.
In a protracted spin exercise by Lekota — viewed as a strong contender to lead the party from 2007 he — said at a media briefing on Friday afternoon that it was misleading to have suggested Zuma had been gagged. In contrast, the council had felt that it would ”not grant his request” to be suspended, Lekota said in his explanation of events.
Asked how the council had come to this conclusion to allow Zuma to operate freely within the party despite facing charges — and despite having been released as the nation’s deputy president — he replied: ”On the basis that one is always presumed to be innoncent until proven guilty.
”He has not been found guilty as such. The view of the council is he is going on trial but we proceed from the view that he is innocent until proven guilty,” said Lekota.-I-Net Bridge and Sapa