Mbeki faces 'rebellion'

2006-05-28 14:04

Johannesburg - ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma left the ANC's National Executive Committee meeting at Esselen Park before its conclusion on Saturday, but there were conflicting reports on why he did so, City Press reported on Sunday.

Zuma's return to NEC meetings turned out not to be a very welcome one as he spent most of Saturday sitting in a waiting room while NEC members discussed the rape trial and its implications for the party, the newspaper said.

Reported the City Press: "Sources close to Zuma say he had been unhappy to learn that discussions on the rape trial, which he thought would have been concluded during a special NEC meeting two weeks ago, were going to form part of the meeting.

"He had then apparently offered not to attend the meeting but was convinced to do so when he was told that the item would not take long to discuss.

"He then asked to be recused from the meeting as discussions on the matter continued, but decided to leave after lunch yesterday (Saturday) when he realised that the item was still on the agenda."

The NEC meeting was scheduled to resume on Sunday.

The Sunday Times meanwhile reported that President Thabo Mbeki faced an outright rebellion by Zuma supporters who were planning to force the ANC into accepting their man as its future president.

They were set to hijack the party's December policy conference where they would propose that the ANC deputy president automatically becomes the next president.

This would pave the way for Zuma to lead the party in 2007 and then become president of South Africa in 2009 when Mbeki?s second term ended, the Sunday Times said.

- SAPA