ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma’s security personnel were forced to take additional precautionary measures last year after rumours originated that he would be poisoned, the Mail & Guardian has learnt. It is unclear from where the rumours emanated, but the M&G understands that Zuma’s aides were tipped off by sources within the National Intelligence Agency.

For a commissioner of police, Jackie Selebi has a rather unfortunate history of association with stolen cars. As early as 1998, when he had just been appointed director general of foreign affairs, Selebi was reportedly shocked to discover that he owned a stolen BMW.

Suspected coup plotter Simon Mann’s fate hangs in the balance as a Zimbabwean court deliberates whether or not to comply with a request from Equatorial Guinea to extradite him to that country, where he would face trial on charges of plotting to overthrow the government. Mann, who is in prison in Zimbabwe for attempting to purchase weapons without a licence, is due to be released on good behaviour on May 11.

African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma’s chief lieutenants in KwaZulu-Natal — who had vowed to take on the party’s national leadership over its ”clumsy” handling of Zuma — were humbled this week when President Thabo Mbeki lorded it over them in the heart of Zumaland. However, his victory is unlikely to be permanent.

Although Zimbabwe is undergoing turbulent times not seen since the bloody 2002 presidential elections, South Africa and other regional states have responded in muted tones at a time when Australia is contemplating evacuating about 700 of its citizens from the strife-torn country.

Could African National Congress secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe be the next president of the ANC? He is also in pole position to benefit from the confusion in the party, with a growing number of voices calling for him to be considered as a compromise candidate.

A confidential internal report has painted a grim picture of disarray in the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, with seven of its provincial structures collapsing or in deep crisis. And insiders say the unwavering support of the league’s national leaders for Jacob Zuma is a significant factor in this decline.

Businessman Tokyo Sexwale has declined to respond to information that he met with ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma to ask him for his assistance in elbowing out Cyril Ramaphosa from the party’s presidential race. Sources in Jacob Zuma’s camp say Sexwale not only met Zuma at least three times last year to discuss his bid for the party leadership — he also asked for Zuma’s help in fighting off tycoon Ramaphosa.

Whoever wants to be the next president of the African National Congress will probably have to go through president Thabo Mbeki, who has been asked by the party’s most influential province to guide the 95-year-old ANC towards its centenary years. Senior members of the Eastern Cape provincial executive committee (PEC) of the ANC are convinced that this “son of the soil will never say no to a mandate by the ANC”.