A few weeks ago, Mosiuoa Lekota was one of the most respected members of the South African ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). He used to be a central figure in the struggle against apartheid, a prisoner on Robben Island, the Chairperson of the ANC, and the country's defense minister.
Mosiuoa Lekota is a close ally of Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa who was recently ousted after a judge suggested he may have interfered in the prosecution of Jacob Zuma, the ANC president, on corruption charges.
Lekota disagreed with the way Mbeki was treated and announced a possibility of leaving the ANC and forming a new political party. Lekota added that his decision to break away from the ANC was also influenced by the "arrogance and the elimination of internal democracy within the party." He has since been supported by a number of prominent ANC members in a bid to form a new party.
The ANC began fracturing in 2005 when Thabo Mbeki dismissed Jacob Zuma, then his vice-president, amid allegations of corruption. The divisions widened last December when Zuma took control of the ANC.
The ANC split would perhaps be a good thing for South Africa. As some analysts believe, an effective opposition would keep the ruling party on its toes. The ANC will have to work hard to win elections instead of only counting on the vote of the black majority due to the country's history. If left unchallenged, the arrogance of the ANC could only lead to a dictatorship.
Immediately after Lekota announced a possibility of a breakaway party, he was called a traitor and charlatan by the ANC leaders. This week, the ANC suspended Lekota from the party.
Many who only a few weeks ago saw Lekota as a hero, today say that he is a hypocrite and traitor. At a recent ANC meeting where Jacob Zuma lashed out at Lekota and sang his signature song "Bring me my machine gun," the ANC delegates danced and sang "Lekota is a hypocrite."
Zuma promised that the ANC "will crack down hard on dissent." He said "radical actions" will be taken against the dissidents, but did not go into detail to explain what those actions would entail.
Article comments
1 - Ruvy
Find yourself another country to live in, Savo - like Australia or New Zealand. South Africa is finally headed for the violence that Mandela managed to avoid.
Whites won't be safe in an atmosphere of black civil war, and that is what you seem to be describing. The coracle that could have been a peaceful country is headed for the falls of a civil war.
And don't expect anybody else on Blogcritics to give a damn about South Africa - not Zedd, not Adam Ash - nobody.
2 - Rev Zakade
The ANC the Nation by introducing satanic laws that allow rights for people who are driven by demonic spirits. and as churches we forced to bless their marriages.