The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust has denied news reports that it has been meeting African National Congress leaders to discuss ”so-called alternative candidates” for president.
The chairperson of the trust’s Gauteng branch, Clement Mlangeni, told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday: ”It is our humbly held view that the media reports are malicious and confusing to the public … As the trust in Gauteng and anywhere in the country we have never held these meetings and have no intention nor plan to do that.”
Mlangeni was referring to a Sunday Times story that supporters of both Zuma and President Thabo Mbeki were talking to businessman Tokyo Sexwale about the possibility of his being an alternative candidate for the ANC presidency.
The trust rejected the report with ”contempt” despite its not being mentioned in the story at all.
Spokesperson Kaizer Mohau said the trust was included in the story when it referred to Jacob Zuma supporters.
He said the media was being ”handled” by highly placed officials. He maintained the trust’s view that there was a political conspiracy against Zuma, the embattled former deputy president. — Sapa