/ 3 November 2008

Zuma labels dissidents as ‘bigamists’

African National Congress splinter group leaders who recently served the ruling party with ”divorce papers” are guilty of bigamy, ANC president Jacob Zuma said on Sunday.

Addressing thousands of party supporters at a rally in Soweto, Zuma said the splinter group, led by former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa and former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota, should have waited for the conclusion of their dispute with the ANC before announcing the formation of a new party.

”Even before the divorce has been concluded they have now announced that they will be getting married to the Democratic Alliance and other opposition parties to form a coalition,” he said.

Zuma was referring to Saturday’s national convention organised by the ANC dissidents, where opposition party leaders, including DA leader
Helen Zille, were given a platform.

The new party will be known as the South African Democratic Congress, and would probably be registered with the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday.

The party will be formally constituted in Bloemfontein only on December 16, but Shilowa told delegates at the closing session of the convention that it could not be a ”no-brand name” until then.

Zuma, who delivered the better part of his speech in isiZulu, said it was strange that the splinter group gave the impression that they shared the same views with the DA on the Freedom Charter, when Zille had made it clear that she did not believe in this document.

”They spoke about the possibility of a coalition and said the ANC has diverted from the Freedom Charter. I see a problem here because Zille does not recognise the Freedom Charter,” he said.

Despite the splinter group having portrayed itself as a defender of the rule of law, some of the speakers at the convention displayed a lack of understanding of the law.

”One of the highly-educated speakers suggested that I was a rapist, this is despite the fact that I was acquitted by a court of law.”

Unisa vice-chancellor Barney Pityana on Saturday told convention delegates they should not allow themselves to be led by rapists.

Zuma replied: ”Because the speaker is one of the educated person who spoke at this convention held in Sandton, a place for the rich, one would have expected him to understand that once a person is acquitted he cannot be labelled a rapist.”

He dismissed as lies the dissidents’ position that they had left the ANC because it had veered from the organisation’s founding principles. Zuma found it strange that Shilowa and Lekota had only raised the issue once they were no longer ANC leaders.

”The anger is because of the defeat they suffered in Polokwane,” he said.

Now that the splinter group had resolved to form a political party it should stop talking about the anger of its members and engage South Africans and the ANC on policies.

”We are not saying they should not form a party, but we are saying they should put forward facts and policies so that we could debate them — not debate in anger.”

About 5 000 people of all ages gathered at the Jabulani amphitheatre, most of them wearing ANC colours and singing Zuma’s trademark song, Umshini Wami.

Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile said the ANC had to win the upcoming election with an overwhelming majority.

”To win, we must see people registering. Make sure that you do.”

Earlier on Sunday Zuma presented medals to Soweto Marathon runners. In a statement issued on Sunday in reaction to Zuma’s speech, Zille said she accepted his challenge on policy debate.

”I hereby accept his invitation, and ask him to name the time and place. If he lives up to his challenge, it will be a major shift in his position. He has until now done everything possible to avoid debating anything with me. He prefers to engage in smear politics and racial rhetoric, while claiming that he wants to debate policy.”

She called on Zuma to step outside his comfort zone of ”rhetoric to defend ANC policies”. – Sapa