ANC faces showdown over Zuma

2006-05-14 11:31

S'Thembiso Msomi, Mandla Zulu and Wonder Hlongwa

Johannesburg - Heated discussions are expected this evening when the ANC's national executive committee meets to discuss the future of former deputy president Jacob Zuma following his acquittal on a charge of rape last Monday.

Although the NEC is expected to unanimously endorse Zuma's resumption of his duties as the party's deputy president, a war of words is expected between his supporters and ANC leaders regarded as his political foes.

Judge Willem van der Merwe's judgment effectively revived Zuma's push to be elected the ANC and the country's president in 2007 and 2009 respectively.

Buoyed by the verdict, some of his supporters are now even calling for the ANC national conference, scheduled for December next year, to be held instead by the end of this year.

They believe that Zuma is so popular within the party that if a conference were to be held now, he would easily defeat President Thabo Mbeki in the polls.

Zuma still has to face another legal battle: he is scheduled to appear before the Pietermaritzburg High Court on charges of corruption linked to the arms deal and his ties with convicted businessman Schabir Shaik.

But his supporters, fresh from the victory in the rape matter, were this week calling the corruption trial a "mere walkover".

On Saturday, however, Zuma's image suffered another knock when The Citizen published excerpts of a letter written by his late wife, Kate, before she committed suicide in 2000.

In the letter, Kate described her marriage to Zuma as "24 years of hell" .

Zuma on Saturday declined to comment on the story but his aides say the story is part of the "dirty tricks" campaign against him.

Since his acquittal, Zuma has been on a charm offensive, addressing media conferences and TV interviews in an attempt to undo the damage his image as a political leader suffered as a result of the trial and his own testimony before the judge.

Although he did not publicly declare his campaign, Zuma last week stopped short of saying he wanted the job - and only said that he was "ready" to take it if the party wanted to "deploy" him.

His backers in the ANC, Cosatu and SA Communist Party, some of whom were already looking for an alternative candidate in the belief that Zuma's political career was over, now say they will push for him all the way to the highest office in the land.

On Friday Zuma addressed hundreds of supporters at the Durban City Hall during a "thanksgiving prayer" meeting organised by the ANC's eThekwini region.

The gathering is said to have been the first in a series of mass meetings Zuma will be holding around the country to canvass support for his presidential campaign and demonstrate his power within the party.

But such plans may be hampered if the NEC decides to limit his activities when it allows him back to the party structures later on Sunday.

- City Press