President Thabo Mbeki could face more pressure over the next few months after the Mail & Guardian learned that supporters of Jacob Zuma are informally building a case against the president. The aim would be to force Mbeki to agree to a general amnesty for those with dirty hands in the arms deal or face having to explain himself in court.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Mail & Guardian this week, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe set out to define the boundaries of the relationship between the new African National Congress (ANC) leadership and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

The political future of Silumko Nondwangu as leader of the Congress of South African Trade Unions’s powerful National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa appears to be in tatters. He is due to appear before Cosatu’s disciplinary committee for agreeing to be on President Thabo Mbeki’s national executive committee list.

The theory is gaining ground that Cosatu plans to use Jacob Zuma as a Trojan Horse to break into the engine room of government. In an interview this week the federation’s Western Cape secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, confirmed that the Trojan Horse theory is doing the rounds.

At least three other senior leaders from major Cosatu affiliates face the axe in what is widely seen as a move by the federation’s leaders to purge elements considered supporters of President Thabo Mbeki. This week Cosatu’s central executive committee (CEC) decided to axe Willie Madisha as Cosatu president for “bringing the federation into disrepute”.

Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool’s days are numbered. Either the African National Congress’s (ANC) national leadership will give him a lifeline of another 13 months in office or, if the regional ANC leadership has its way, he could be out within the next few weeks.

”I don’t think there is a conflict with regards to my position as the secretary general of the ANC and SACP chairperson. Moses Kotane served as treasurer general of the ANC while he was also secretary general for the SACP for many years”, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe tells the Mail & Guardian.

A dawn police raid on opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and a violent crackdown on protests on Wednesday have dealt a major blow to President Thabo Mbeki’s efforts to strike an agreement in Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai was seized from his home at about 4am as his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) prepared protests against President Robert Mugabe in defiance of a police ban.

President Thabo Mbeki wants to stay the course as country president despite increased pressure exerted on him by the new ANC leadership. The Mail & Guardian spoke to four people close to the president. They say Mbeki is willing to listen to the ANC but will not implement any party decision that he thinks is impossible or could undermine the rule of law.

A group of senior ANC leaders aligned to party president Jacob Zuma is planning to approach President Thabo Mbeki in the next few weeks with a proposal to appoint ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe as the country’s deputy president, the Mail & Guardian has established.