Blade Nzimande
South African Communist Party secretary general
Nzimande has been careful to adhere to the SACP’s decision to publicly uphold the rule of law, rather than Zuma as an individual. But, behind the scenes, he is believed to be pushing for a Zuma presidency and working to maintain his public support, particularly through the Young Communist League. Nzimande’s keen loyalty to Zuma has been blamed for dividing the SACP.
Buti Manamela
Young Communist League national secretary
Manamela is the public face of the YCL, which, with the ANC Youth League and the Friends of the Jacob Zuma Trust, was central to organising Zuma’s support outside the court during his rape trial. Manamela makes no bones about the fact that young communists want a Zuma presidency. After Zuma’s acquittal, he warned against ”selective morality and undemocratic discriminatory criteria” in deciding who will lead the ANC and South Africa. ”The fact that [Zuma] is not guilty means he is entitled to any position in society.”
Zweli Mkhize
ANC deputy chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal and provincial finance minister
One of Zuma’s closest confidants, Mkhize spearheaded attempts to persuade his rape accuser to drop charges. Mkhize is understood to be part of a school of thought in the Zuma camp that, in the interests of ANC stability, Zuma should choose a presidential candidate to be backed by his supporters, rather than entering the race himself.
Zwelinzima Vavi
Congress of South African Trade Unions general secretary
Vavi has been far more circumspect than his SACP counterparts in supporting Zuma — particularly since the rape charge. Cosatu high-ups were notably absent from outside the court. But expect Cosatu to make a public comeback, in line with a resolution last August on Zuma’s corruption trial. Vavi described the case as ”a classic attempt to drag the working class into a war … predetermined by neo-liberals using their control over key components of the state machinery.” He does not necessarily support a Zuma presidency, but the wider belief that Zuma is being politically targeted.
Zizi Kodwa
ANC Youth League spokesperson
Kodwa came to personify the Zuma supporters outside the court during the rape trial, urging them on with freedom songs. He also believes President Thabo Mbeki is using state machinery to neutralise Zuma. Kodwa landed in hot water with the National Prosecuting Authority after telling the crowd outside the court, in reference to NPA boss Vusi Pikoli, that they should ”hit dogs very hard to force their owner and handler to come out in the open”.
Fikile Mbalula
ANC Youth League president
Mbalula is the main proponent of the idea that Mbeki is conspiring to thwart Zuma’s presidential ambitions, first voicing them after Judge Hilary Squires found Zuma’s relationship with Schabir Shaik to be ”generally corrupt”. He was in court throughout the rape trial, as one of 15 people accredited as ”friends of Jacob Zuma”. The league has historically played an influential king-making role in the ANC, and backs Zuma for the presidency.
Don Mkhwanazi
Friends of the Jacob Zuma Trust
”Bra Don” spearheaded the formation of the Friends of the Jacob Zuma Trust to help fund legal costs. Mkhwanazi and Zuma are longstanding friends — when Zuma first returned from exile, he and his family stayed at Mkhwanazi’s home in Umlazi.
Vivien Reddy
Praised as KwaZulu-Natal’s best businessman by some and a wheeler-dealer by his detractors, Reddy has contributed to the Friends of the Jacob Zuma Trust. In Shaik’s trial, it emerged that he was servicing a R900 000 bond on Zuma’s Nkandla homestead. Asked about his relationship with Zuma, he said: ”We meet for birthdays.”
Mo Shaik
Mo Shaik, Schabir’s brother, is a fierce Zuma loyalist and was his spokesperson after the Scorpions raid on Zuma’s home last year. He has taken over his brother’s company, Nkobi Holdings, which was at the centre of Schabir’s corruption trial. In a recent interview he said: ”We still love Zuma. We remain his loyal comrades.”
Ranjeni Munusamy
Zuma’s spin-doctor, disgraced journalist Munusamy is beside him at every public appearance fielding media questions. She burst into tears when he was cleared of rape. Munusamy accompanied Mkhize to a meeting with attorney Yusuf Ismail Dockrat last year aimed at persuading the rape complainant to drop charges.
Also in the Zuma camp, thanked by Zuma at a press conference on Tuesday, are the Congress of South African Students, the Umkhonto we Sizwe Mili-tary Veterans Association, the South African National Civic Organisation and the South African Students Congress. — Mail & Guardian reporters