RSA President Thabo Mbeki Resigns
President of South Africa Departs from National Executive and ANC
Oct 14, 2008
After allegations of a misuse of power by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, the country’s ruling party formally requested that he step down. With characteristic dignity and grace, and less characteristic poignancy, Mr. Mbeki obliged. His resignation speech was broadcast to millions of attentive South Africans. Mondli Makhanya, the editor of the Sunday Times, and one such South African, echoed the sentiment of many when he regarded Mbeki’s speech as one of the president’s most eloquent and moving, but voiced his concern about the future of the country without clear leadership in already unstable times.
Although replaced by the respectable interim president Kgalema Motlanthe, Mbeki’s absence has exacerbated the deep divisions within the ruling party which has triggered a stronger sense of unease among South Africans regarding their current political state of affairs. While Thabo Mbeki was involved in many controversial situations during his time as president, including his stance on Zimbabwe for which he was heavily criticized, he clearly had very strong support from at least one sector of the now volatile ANC. The enigmatic former president may not have commanded the adoration of the masses like Nelson Mandela, but his business and political acumen has spearheaded his country’s continuous economic growth (4.5% over 4 years). Additionally, Mbeki’s legacy as a true ANC stalwart and freedom fighter is often overlooked.
As Mbeki stated in his final national address, he has been a loyal member of the ANC for 52 years. Joining at the tender age of 14, Mr. Mbeki was clearly ‘born into the struggle’ as described in his biography: Fit to Govern: the Native Intelligence of Thabo Mbeki. His father and mother, both ANC activists, provided the political pedigree that saw him rise quickly through the ranks of the ANC. Along the way, Mbeki picked up a Master of Economics degree in the United Kingdom. He spent 28 years in exile and, upon returning to South Africa, Mbeki was instrumental in the negotiations with the Apartheid government that lead to the reinstatement of the ANC, the release of political prisoners, and the eventual democratization of the Republic of South Africa. Successor
Although his popularity has waxed and waned over the course of his 9 year tenure as president, Mbeki is still widely associated with the old, venerable ANC, the party that saved the country. His absence has left a precarious balance of political power, tentatively held-together by the presence of respected figures such as Kgalema Motlanthe and Trevor Manuel. The ANC is now at best, a fragmented party.
Mbeki’s departure has instigated some vociferous discord from within the corridors of ANC’s chambers. Mosiuoa Lekota has been perhaps the most vocal of the dissenters. Calling for a return to the founding principles of the ANC, Lekota hinted at the emergence of a new party to challenge the dominance of the ANC. Lekota made it clear that he was unhappy with the manner in which Mbeki left office, and made direct and disdainful references to certain leading ANC members. It would appear that Lekota’s answer to problems of his troubled party is to perhaps part ways and create another. When this party will be established, and who will be leading it remains to be seen. Mosiuoa Lekota’s statement was published in the CapeArgus, Thursday 9 October 2008.
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