ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, who was sacked as South Africa’s deputy president last year, will not ask for his job back despite charges of corruption being thrown out by the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Instead Zuma is expected to extend an olive branch to his political foes, whom he has accused of trying to thwart his ascendancy to the highest office in the land. Zuma is also expected to invite his “persecutors” within the Thabo Mbeki camp of the ANC to join him in resolving the crisis in the ruling party and in finding ways to heal the rift caused by the fallout between himself and Mbeki.
The National Prosecuting Authority could still charge him at a later stage if it feels ready to mount a convincing case against him. Sources close to Zuma say the apparent departure this week from the abrasive approach he adopted in the run-up to the Cosatu elective conference is because of the fact that Zuma feels Mbeki was poorly advised in firing him from his Cabinet. Already some affiliates of Cosatu and the Young Communist League are calling on Mbeki to reinstate Zuma as the country’s deputy president.
However, the Mail & Guardian has established that Zuma will not pursue reinstatement as deputy president of the country, but will clarify his intentions and views in a press conference this weekend with all South Africa’s media.
Zuma, who appears emboldened by Judge Herbert Msimang’s decision to throw the state’s case against him out of the court, could also provide insight into who he thinks his persecutors were and why he thinks he was being persecuted. Zuma may also use the press conference as an opportunity to project himself as a party leader without any personal ambitions, who takes his cues from Luthuli House.
Zuma’s speech at the opening of the Cosatu congress on Monday was the first indicator that he may be worried about going too far in criticising government and Mbeki. The speech reflected official ANC policy and there has been speculation that the views of other ANC leaders were incorporated. This week Zuma appeared to be backtracking from his strategy of aggressively attacking Mbeki and openly positioning himself as the alternative candidate for disaffected members of the alliance.
This week’s speech at the Cosatu congress was much milder in tone and represented the official ANC line on issues such as HIV/Aids and the nature of the alliance. This is in stark contrast to Zuma’s earlier endorsement of Cosatu and SACP positions, which were critical of the ANC, government and Mbeki. At the Sadtu conference earlier this month, Zuma said Cosatu and the SACP should not be treated as junior partners, a key complaint the two have levelled against Mbeki.
Repeating the popular criticism that Mbeki’s leadership style is undemocratic, Zuma said: “We need to reject the bureaucratic methods of suppressing debate. We have to guard against over-centralisation of power.” At the same time, Zuma criticised government’s miscommunication over HIV/Aids, saying: “We cannot afford any mixed messages or ambiguity when it comes to the scourge of HIV and Aids. The lives of our people are at stake.”
It looks as though Zuma has learned not to project himself as too much of a maverick in the manner that led to the downfall of the likes of Bantu Holomisa and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
But one of the organisers of the press conference said Zuma was still expected to “speak out”, as he was no longer hindered by the sub judice rule. In the past, Zuma had assured his supporters that he will reveal the real reasons why he was being persecuted. He has also remained firm in his belief that he was the victim of a political plot to deal him out of the race to succeed Mbeki as leader of the ruling party and the country.
While Zuma remained tight-lipped about the way forward for himself and his cause, Elias Khumalo, a close associate, hailed Msimang’s judgement as “highly patriotic. It offers a win-win situation for both Zuma and the National Prosecuting Authority and it bridges the gap between the two camps in the ANC. Not only did the judge strike the matter off the court roll, he also accorded the NPA the most dignified way to extricate itself from the embarrassing and precarious situation it found itself in.
“Now is the time for the political process to take place to find a way to bridge the gap and heal the rift caused by the misguided decision of the NPA to charge Zuma prematurely,” said Khumalo.
Following the judgement on Wednesday, Zuma returned to Johannesburg to address the Cosatu congress. His decision to do so rather than first visiting his traditional kraal at Nkandla village is indicative of his desire to maintain his position as the unofficial conduit between the ANC and Cosatu.
Buoyed by the court decision, Zuma is expected to take the fight to his enemies with one of his close allies saying he would devote “100% of his attention to matters of the ANC, the alliance and participating in the matters of the country as a full executive member of the ANC”. Zuma is expected to spend the coming weeks traversing the country to thank his supporters for standing by him throughout his two trials.