Who's behind Zuma 'plot'?

2007-05-12 07:41

Johannesburg - Sensational claims by allies of South African presidential hopeful Jacob Zuma that a R1m price has been put on his head, looked set to heighten distrust between supporters of the populist politician and archrival President Thabo Mbeki.

Members of Zuma's inner circle told the Friday edition of the Mail & Guardian newspaper that the controversial former deputy president, whose shaky HIV/Aids awareness and corruption trial made headlines last year, had erected "a security wall" around himself over fears for his safety.

Sources close to Zuma told the paper he believed he was the target of "several" assassination plots and said police were investigating one such scheme, in which a trained sniper was allegedly hired to assassinate Zuma during a public appearance in Durban for R1m.

"They had managed to check where Zuma dry-cleans his clothes and were about to move for the kill when word got out. This followed failed attempts to poison his food," the newspaper quoted the source as saying.

Other alleged plots cited by sources close to the 66-year-old ethnic Zulu politician involved lacing his drinks and clothes with poison.

It is speculated that Zuma's enemies could include not only his political foes but individuals opposed to him becoming president.

The constitution prevents Mbeki from seeking a third term as state president but his supporters want to see him remain on as party president.

While Zuma's associates have refrained from engaging in any finger pointing over the alleged plot, the claim looked set to further envenom a leadership race already dogged by name-calling.

Sour relations between camps

Hours after the article appeared, Zuma supporters told a radio phone-in programme the report pointed to a campaign against him, while his detractors dismissed it a desperate bid to curry sympathy.

Relations between the two camps soured after Mbeki sacked Zuma as the country's deputy president in June 2005 following the conviction of Zuma's financial adviser for fraud that led to allegations of corruption against the politician.

Zuma's supporters claimed the sacking and the allegations against him was an attempt to end his presidential ambitions. When Zuma himself went on trial in July 2006 for fraud - a case that was thrown out over delays - some of his supporters burned T-shirts with Mbeki's image.

The mood was uglier still when the anti-apartheid struggle veteran was charged with raping a family friend. Zuma loyalists claiming his accuser had been "put up to it."

Although he was acquitted, observers say tensions between the two political camps outside the courtroom on judgement day, harkened back to the bloody conflict between rival black factions in South Africa in the early 1990s.

"The trend in the ANC leadership race has been to deal with things with allegations and counter-allegations," Steven Friedman, associate researcher at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa noted.

- SAPA