Zuma: I defended Mbeki and wanted him to stay longer

Former African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma says when everyone else wanted his predecessor Thabo Mbeki out of the ruling party, he defended him.

Zuma sympathised with Mbeki while criticising current leader Cyril Ramaphosa.

Among the reasons he decided to endorse the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK party), he told Newzroom Afrika, are the ANC’s failure to implement its policies and Ramaphosa’s leadership.

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“There are many things that happened and passed. This one that led me to establish a political party called uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK party), was the failures of my organisation to keep the policies, to deal with the issues that we fought for, to change the lives and to make people’s lives better,” Zuma said.

“The manner in which the leadership was already dealing with the ANC instead of leading it. When Ramaphosa wanted to be the president, which was breaking the rules of the organisation before I finished my term.

ANC policy

According to the ANC’s policy, an outgoing president should stay on for 18 months after the incoming one has been voted in.

This gives the incoming president an opportunity to settle in, understand ANC policies and prepare the strategy for the next ANC elections.

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“This is done so that the outgoing president will be continuing with the government business and begin to usher the ANC president in. But as soon as he [Ramaphosa] was elected, he wanted to be the president,” said Zuma.

However, Rule 32 of the ANC’s constitution also allows the party’s NEC to make changes to the rules.

“The NEC is authorised to make consequential changes to the content and style of these rules following these amendments and to make such transitional arrangements as necessary,” reads the party’s constitution.

‘I defended Mbeki’

He claims he never wanted to immediately take over from Mbeki and instead wanted him to stay on for for the stipulated time.

Mbeki was removed from his position in September 2008 following a meeting of the party’s national executive committee.

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“I waited. I actually wanted Mbeki to stay longer. It was other comrades in the NEC who said he must go at a particular time. They were accusing him of the manner in which he was handling the organisation. I was in the minority and said ‘let us not do it. Let us find a way to communicate with Mbeki on how to handle himself until the final stage. They say no’.

“I actually defended Mbeki. But Cyril Ramaphosa wanted to come in now, backed by other leaders.”

Removal of Mbeki ‘reckless’

Zuma is not the first ANC leader to criticise the removal of Mbeki.

In December, secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said in a media briefing Mbeki’s removal was “wrong” and “reckless”.

He said: “Why do you remove somebody who has not stolen from government, who was doing his job. What did he do?”

READ MORE: It was ‘wrong’ and ‘reckless’ for ANC to remove Thabo Mbeki – Mbalula