The ANC wants President Thabo Mbeki to resign, or it will force its MPs to remove him. Some of the ruling party's national executive committee (NEC) members want to go further and fire Mbeki as an ordinary ANC member.
This has been sparked by Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Chris Nicholson's inference on Friday that Mbeki interfered with the charging and multiple attempts to prosecute his rival, ANC president Jacob Zuma.
Judge Nicholson ruled that the National Prosecuting Authority's latest bid to charge Zuma was invalid.
It was a stunning turnaround - of profound ironies - in less than 24 hours for Mbeki. On Thursday night, he savoured his greatest diplomatic triumph in brokering peace in Zimbabwe.
Less than 12 hours later, he faced the prospect of his greatest political and personal disaster.
Judge Nicholson confirmed Zuma's long-held claim that his prosecution was a political conspiracy, despite the ANC NEC under Mbeki denying this in 2005.
In the final irony, last night Mbeki assumed the same defence and denial against the judge's findings that Zuma used when the president fired him as his deputy after Judge Hilary Squires convicted his erstwhile financial adviser, Schabir Shaik.
Three years ago, Zuma claimed he had been tried and judged in absentia. On Friday night, Mbeki said the same thing, almost verbatim.
Although Mbeki denied ever interfering and vowed to challenge the judgment, it was clear his political authority has been irreparably damaged. His career is all but over.
Militants within the ANC and its alliance structures, who had called for Mbeki's head as early as January, on Friday said the judgment had vindicated their call for an early election.
The ANC was supported on Friday night by the Independent Democrats and the African Christian Democratic Party, which also want Mbeki to resign.
Half of the ANC's NEC members were in Pietermaritzburg in a show of solidarity with their president.
Four of them told the Saturday Star that an informal caucus had been taken on the courthouse steps, where a decision had been taken to remove Mbeki.
One NEC member said the caucus had agreed that Mbeki should not be humiliated further but rather asked to tender his resignation.
"All the NEC members who are here agree that he must just do the honourable thing and fall on his sword. We're lobbying seriously to convince the entire NEC and his own supporters within (the NEC) that he must be punished.
"He has committed serious offences. A competent judge of the High Court said it, you heard him," said an NEC member.
An ex officio member of the NEC said the seriousness of Mbeki's conduct "calls for the party to axe him".
Next week, the NEC's scheduled meeting is likely to be dominated by discussions to fire Mbeki.
ANC Youth League president Julius Malema did not mince his words: "The NEC has a responsibility to recall Mbeki; if not, we'll recall them."
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said the alliance would meet and decide on the implication of the judgment.
Both Cosatu and the SA Communist Party will deliberate on Mbeki's fate at their separate special executive committee meetings next week.
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete told the Saturday Star on Friday that the National Assembly could act after studying the judgment.
"The next step is to study the judgment thoroughly. And we can take in all relevant elements that need to be followed up. Out of that we'll immediately pursue the matter through our structures and parliament," said Mbete.
The constitution allows the National Assembly, through a two-thirds majority vote, to remove the president if he is guilty of serious misconduct or is unable to perform his duties.
In his ruling, Judge Nicholson implied Mbeki influenced acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe's decision to charge Zuma last December.
The president's suspension of prosecutions chief Vusi Pikoli was also cited as an example of political interference.
"The timing of the indictment by Mr Mpshe on December 28 2007, after the president suffered a political defeat at Polokwane, was most unfortunate. This factor, together with the suspension of Mr Pikoli, who was supposed to be independent and immune from executive interference, persuade me that the most plausible inference is that the baleful political influence was continuing," Judge Nicholson said.
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For the sake of the highest interest of stability in SA, Mbeki should seriously contemplate to step down over his alledged interference in the course of justice concerning the Zuma case.
Mbeki is already a President limping on one-foot after having lost the presidency of the ANC. He may not be able to reading the writings of the wall after his infamous "what crisis" in Zimbabwe inspite of the fact that murderer Mugabe terrorised over 4 million Zimbabweans to run seek refuge in SA!!
Should he decide to challenge the findings of the judge in the Zuma case, Mbeki will start a dangerous process of tearing down the country. The ANC will not stand by his side. Parliament will not support him. The judiciary will be upset. Civil society activists will ridicule him.
I have the impression that he has rubbed shoulders too much with murderer Mugabe that he is also developing serious shortcomings in foresight. Just like his two-headed formula imposed on Zimbabwe, to save Mugabe skin, which is the cause of great anxiety amongst Zimbabweans.
Mbeki's intention to challenge the findings of the judge may be just a quick emotional outburst. If he has worked for the good of SA all his life, he should better fight the challenge in his capacity as the former President than in his capacity of a seating President.
May we hope that his good sense will prevail at last!
Well written! The Zimbabwe saga is not complete and requires a sane person like Zuma to complete it. What deal is this which has not been disclosed to the Zimbabwean people? Why the deal when its a simple matter of leaders well past their sale date having to leave public office and let others carry the task of correcting their destruction? Why make Tsvangirai's task that difficult by leaving hate-talking and spendthrift Mugabe in the same house? What is clown Mutambara doing in there except to masquerade as opposition when he is Mugabe's fan and allay, out to derail the much desired change? Wanting to send Tsvangirai to go fishing for aid which will be squandered by the same people who destroyed such a prosperous country? They ran out of things to steal as the state is broke, not they want someone to attract donor funds, which they again loot in stead of building capacity for the nation and eventually turning Zimbabwe into a donor for other nations . This is a sham.
I don't quite understand where all these calls for our president's head are coming from. For years Thabo Mbeki has been rediculed for the so-called quiet diplomacy. Now when it seems to be yielding good fruits, this Zuma case is overshadowing his hard-worked-for glory. Mbeki worked his butt off to get all parties into signing what initially seemed to have been an imossible achievement. But the ANC and its bloody allies want him to go? I say "no!" Leave Mbeki alone. A lot of things have been said about him but I don't think getting rid of him just yet will solve the country's problems. One also has to remember that his term only ends next year, and it was not the SACP,COSATU and the YL of the ANC that made hi the country's president. it was the voters of the country, in general. So leave him alone.
It is a shame that a sex predator like Jacob Zuma could be catapulted to the presidency in this way rather than send to the zulu gods to be cleansed from HIV infection and disgrace he brought to himself.
It will be stupid of the ANC to fire or to ask Mbeki to resign at this juncture of election period.Cde Mbeki is one of our rarest son's produced by the ANC in the same fashion as Cde Zuma, it is true that just like all of us he might have faultered there and there including his judgement on Zuma at a personal level but that does not delete what he has done for this country throughout his struggle years up to his leadership of the country and the ANC.He has delivered on the mandate given to him through our elections manufesto and resolutions of the movements taken before the last conference that elected him. Through this judgment it has became clear that the hostilities between this cdes are nothing but personal clushes that have been fought remotely using nearest objects to each positions, in Mbeki's case the state happen to be the most convinient while to cde Zuma the masses happen to be closest, we therefore cannot afford to let the whole ANC suffer the well deserve election victor on the bases of individual battles, that are unfortunately have affected all of us, now is the time to look at the good that the two has in their bags and move forward by not returning fire with fire which is un ANC and allow Mbeki to finish his term and properly hands over power to his comrade as required by the ANC constitution, however cde Mbeki should be warned for the offence he might have committed which would be his first offence after more than 52 years as a loyal member of the ANC and so as Zuma. let us not follow the saying that says one mistake could erase many good deeds at ago, we should be more wiser than that. Mdu Cele (member of the ANC)and MKVA
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