Saturday 20th September, 2008 I woke up to the news that the African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee has taken a decision to recall President Thabo Mbeki. I was shocked. I knew that speculation to that effect had earlier been rife, with the usual brouhaha created by the media about the judgment of Judge Chris Nicholson which pronounced Mbeki to have politically influenced some of the decisions by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), but it took me by surprise. It hit me hard. I then ran frantically to search for this judgment, from newspaper clips I usually keep, from colleagues, and even from the internet. Once I found it, I was stuck with this 121-pages piece of work for about 6 hours, trying to make sense of how the ANC NEC could have so intimately used it to fire the President. But I just couldn’t see. I just couldn’t even see where Judge Nicholson drew his inferences of a political meddling by the President and his executive. And quite frankly, I just couldn’t even make out why the Judge wondered in that territory in the first place. Here was a Judge asked to rule in a completely procedural case, with the crux of the contention being that the NPA has erred in recharging ANC President Jacob Zuma (JZ) without affording him the opportunity to state his side of the story. But Allah! The Judge rules that yes, the NPA had erred, but then again he ‘recklessly’ throws his opinions about the existence of a political conspiracy against JZ! And guess what happened next? Mbeki’s enemies, who have been critical of his market-oriented economic policies which have allowed this African powerhouse to enjoy sustainable periods of economic growth, were armed with ammunition by Judge Nicholson to depose of him. And yes they did, with ruthlessness and military precision, to the utter disgust of many ordinary and progressive minds of South Africans and the whole world. It was an act of pure revenge. Period.
I was hurt to the bone, but his televised address to the nation where he announced his resignation, managed to put me at ease. The calm, the confidence, and his world-acclaimed eloquence, and the content of his last speech, had all the ingredients of an excellent statesmanship. The subsequent resignations of cabinet ministers – who resigned in solidarity with this African visionary - should have been a slap on the faces of the likes of Cyril Ramaphosa, Mathews Phosa, and Tokyo Sexwale. The trio had at different stages been defeated by Mbeki in the race to the highest public office in South Africa. Their futile attempts to plot against Mbeki had at one stage exposed and thwarted.
Lest you label me an Mbeki apologist, let me assure you that yes, I am the biggest fan of this son of the soil. Although some believe his legacy has been left in tatters, I beg to differ. His role as a mediator in some of the African conflicts (Liberia, Sierra Leone, DRC, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and many more), is well documented and need no emphasis. You only need to look at the pace of efforts to extricate many South Africans from the jaws of poverty, then you’ll surely appreciate the man and the many sacrifices he has put for South Africa! This, as he had rightly pointed out in his last speech, is an unfinished business; it will take many years to undo the past injustices of apartheid! I have also not understood the noise around the AIDS issue he was famously crucified about. The man was faced with a significant number of scientists in his AIDS advisory panel who also advocated for the stop of the use of anti-retroviral drugs because of their alleged toxicity, and who also questioned the very same existence of the relationship between AIDS and the HI Virus, and he appealed for more caution in the roll-out of these drugs, and further research on the scourge of AIDS…and he was said to be in denial! Isn’t how leaders, especially Presidents, should be cautioning about? I mean, about hasty decisions?? Secondly, where has his famous ‘quiet diplomacy’ got Zimbabwe now? The country is now on the verge of a being resuscitated from the abyss of poverty and economic melt down, thanks to President Mbeki.
I was hurt to the bone, but his televised address to the nation where he announced his resignation, managed to put me at ease. The calm, the confidence, and his world-acclaimed eloquence, and the content of his last speech, had all the ingredients of an excellent statesmanship. The subsequent resignations of cabinet ministers – who resigned in solidarity with this African visionary - should have been a slap on the faces of the likes of Cyril Ramaphosa, Mathews Phosa, and Tokyo Sexwale. The trio had at different stages been defeated by Mbeki in the race to the highest public office in South Africa. Their futile attempts to plot against Mbeki had at one stage exposed and thwarted.
Lest you label me an Mbeki apologist, let me assure you that yes, I am the biggest fan of this son of the soil. Although some believe his legacy has been left in tatters, I beg to differ. His role as a mediator in some of the African conflicts (Liberia, Sierra Leone, DRC, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and many more), is well documented and need no emphasis. You only need to look at the pace of efforts to extricate many South Africans from the jaws of poverty, then you’ll surely appreciate the man and the many sacrifices he has put for South Africa! This, as he had rightly pointed out in his last speech, is an unfinished business; it will take many years to undo the past injustices of apartheid! I have also not understood the noise around the AIDS issue he was famously crucified about. The man was faced with a significant number of scientists in his AIDS advisory panel who also advocated for the stop of the use of anti-retroviral drugs because of their alleged toxicity, and who also questioned the very same existence of the relationship between AIDS and the HI Virus, and he appealed for more caution in the roll-out of these drugs, and further research on the scourge of AIDS…and he was said to be in denial! Isn’t how leaders, especially Presidents, should be cautioning about? I mean, about hasty decisions?? Secondly, where has his famous ‘quiet diplomacy’ got Zimbabwe now? The country is now on the verge of a being resuscitated from the abyss of poverty and economic melt down, thanks to President Mbeki.
To me, Thabo Mbeki will always remain an icon of freedom, and just what true intellect represents. We all see how the ANC has been hijacked by loose cannons like Julius Malema and Zwelinzima Vavi; we all see how the deeply entrenched values and the culture of Ubuntu, respect of hman rights and so forth have been eroded and replaced by reckless rhetoric and a spirit of vengeance!
President Mbeki, you shall always remain my hero!!
