South Africa: Lessons From the Demise of Thabo Mbeki

opinion

This month marks one of the most troubling anniversaries of South Africa's post-apartheid history. On the 21st of September, five years ago, Thabo Mbeki was forced to resign as President of South Africa, a mere nine months before his second term of office expired. He did so following a deeply flawed judgment by Chris Nicholson on the pending trial of Mbeki's rival for the presidency, Jacob Zuma, and this judgement implicated Mbeki in political interference in the trial.

The Nicholson judgement unleashed havoc in the country's elite politics, and paved the way for Zuma's rise to power. While the removal of Mbeki did not amount to a coup d'etat, as his former Director-general, Frank Chikane, has alleged, Mbeki's removal was an ill-founded move made with unseemly haste. It led to people perceived to be Mbeki's supporters being purged en masse from institutions like the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), with scant attention being paid to fair procedure.

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