The uneasy truce between African National Congress president Thabo Mbeki and his deputy, Jacob Zuma, will come under renewed strain next week, when thousands are set to march in support of Zuma during his court appearance.
Zuma will be making a routine court appearance on Tuesday at the Durban Magistrate’s Court, where a trial date is likely to be set. He faces fraud and corruption charges.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the South African Communist Party (SACP), the ANC Youth League and the Young Communist League have all vowed to demonstrate in solidarity with Zuma at the court appearance. Planned activities include a vigil on the night before his appearance and a march to the court.
The demonstrations are certain to showcase Zuma’s pulling power and will be supported by senior leaders including KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu Ndebele and alliance partners leaders.
ANC leaders have denied suggestions that the march will place undue pressure on judicial officers presiding over the case and amount to criticising its own government structures.
”We have repeatedly stressed the need to respect the law. Expressing support for Zuma does not equate to undermining the judiciary,” said ANC head of presidency Smuts Ngonyama.
Young Communist League national secretary Buti Manamela said the way the investigations had been handled gave grounds to fear that the trial could not be free. Cosatu made the same claim at its recent central committee meeting.
”Whether he is guilty is for the courts to decide. But the process leading to the trial, including raids found improper by the Johannesburg High Court in Julie Mahomed’s case, have made us suspicious,” Manamela said.
”Our protest will call for a free trial for JZ, saying state institutions should not be abused during the investigation and prosecution.”
Mbeki and Zuma were forced by the last ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting to work together to resolve their long- standing tensions. Their brief was to meet and agree on a way forward, to be discussed at a specially convened NEC meeting. The two are known to have met in private.
At the core of the conflict is the leadership succession debate and Mbeki’s centralising management style. Cosatu, the SACP and the youth league favour Zuma as the next ANC and national president, but Mbeki has made it clear that he may stand for the ANC presidency. Mbeki’s supporters in the NEC have reminded Zuma that he must brace himself for the possibility that he could be convicted and jailed.
They have also tried to press him to control his supporters, who have loudly denounced Mbeki’s aloof management style. Mbeki has been urged to change his dismissive approach to Cosatu and the SACP and be more responsive to grassroots voices.
The Mbeki-Zuma recommendations will also be presented to the alliance partners before the ANC’s special NEC meeting. Ngonyama said a date for the meeting has not been set.