The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will call for Jacob Zuma to be reinstated as deputy president of South Africa and charges of corruption against him to be dropped, the federation said on Tuesday.
”[We resolved] to call on the president of South Africa to review the decision to relieve comrade Zuma of his responsibilities as the deputy president,” said Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
The resolution was taken at a meeting of the Cosatu central committee on Monday night in Johannesburg.
The committee, which is meeting until Thursday, also resolved to ask President Thabo Mbeki to ensure the withdrawal of corruption charges against Zuma.
”It is clear that he would not get a fair trial. In this context, Cosatu will start a petition campaign to call on the president to ensure withdrawal of charges.”
Vavi said if the case goes ahead in spite of the federation’s call, Cosatu will demand a fair hearing and a full bench to hear the trial.
”We will ensure that whenever comrade Zuma appears in court, our people will demonstrate en masse.”
Zuma was fired in June after his friend and financial adviser Schabir Shaik was found guilty on two charges of corruption and one of fraud involving financial dealings with Zuma.
Zuma was subsequently charged with corruption as well, and goes on trial in the Durban High Court in October.
Earlier in the day, the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust was officially launched to give the African National Congress deputy president financial and moral support during his trial.
The committee also resolved to call on Cosatu affiliates, members and the public to contribute to the fund.
Zuma, who addressed the committee meeting on Tuesday, told reporters while leaving the conference he is humbled by the support South Africans have given him.
”I am humbled by the support of the people in the country. They can see there has been an element of … victimisation … the support is well-founded.”
Vavi told reporters the committee believes that Zuma was politically targeted because the capitalist elements of society wanted to impose a succession plan on the democratic movement.
”JZ [Jacob Zuma] is seen to be too close to workers and the poor,” he said.
For this reason, Zuma was tried by the media and in absentia, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) actively leaked information to selected media, Vavi said.
In August 2003, former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka said there was a ”prima facie” case against Zuma, but that it would be impossible to win the case.
Vavi said the case was not only about Zuma’s interests, but about the interests of the working class as a whole, which Zuma had embraced and resolutely defended.
”The trial of comrade Zuma is a classic attempt to drag the working class into a war whose terrain and outcome have been predetermined by neo-liberals using their control over key components of the state machinery, in this case in particular the judiciary.”
Asked if supporting Zuma will not harm Cosatu’s strong anti-corruption stance, Vavi said the question pre-supposes that Zuma is guilty. He is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
He also said Cosatu does not believe that asking Mbeki to ensure the charges are dropped is interference in the judiciary.
The chairperson of the board of the new trust, businessman Don Mkhwanazi, told reporters the fund was a collaboration between Cosatu, business and civil society groups.
Asked what businesses are funding the trust, Mkhwanazi said a number of business people have approached him wanting to help Zuma to have a fair trial. However, he is not at liberty to identify them.
Other board members so far are Fikile Slovo Majola, the general secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union; and Sizwe Shezi, who is president of the South African Youth Council.
Zuma was also supported at the briefing by the ANC Youth League and the Young Communist League.
A website has been established to provide updates of funds collected, fund-raising events and the trial. It will allow the public to send messages of support to Zuma.
Zuma supporters can also SMS the word ”Zuma” to 36045. Each message will cost R5, which will be given to the trust.
The website was shown to reporters by Shaik’s so-called media consultant Ranjeni Munusamy. Asked why Munusamy was at the briefing, she said she was helping with logistics.
Shortly after Ngcuka had made his comments about Zuma, a story was leaked by Munusamy, a journalist at the time, to the City Press newspaper alleging that Ngcuka had been a spy for the apartheid government. — Sapa